Congressman grabs pope’s drinking glass, takes sip
Bob Brady shares Francis's water with wife, staffers, family, fellow legislator
PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis wasn’t the only person to drink from the glass of water he used during his speech to Congress. An enterprising Democratic congressman from Philadelphia also took a sip.
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, a Catholic, tells the Philadelphia Daily News that as the pope left the chamber Thursday, he headed to the lectern to grab Francis’ drinking glass.
Brady says he took it to his office and had a drink. He says so did his wife, Debra, and two staffers.
The congressman says he also invited fellow Democrat and Catholic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania into his office.
He says Casey, his wife, and Casey’s mother dipped their fingers into the water.
Brady says he saved the rest for his four grandchildren and his great-granddaughter.
Francis on Friday made an emotional visit to the 9/11 Memorial in New York to lead prayers for peace after calling for a more humane global system in a speech at the United Nations.
The head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics bowed his head in prayer and laid a white rose at the memorial, dedicated to the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001 in the worst attacks on US soil.