A Pope Not Made for Television: Pope St. John XXIII

Today in 1958, Angelo Roncalli was elected Pope, taking the name John XXIII.

The story goes that when he stepped into the room of tears after winning on the eleventh ballot of the conclave, the standard Small, Medium, & Large white cassocks were not big enough for the somewhat large man. So, they ripped seams along the sides of the biggest size they had and safety pinned him in before he appeared on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. Seeing himself in the mirror, the new Pope joked, "This man will be a disaster on television!"