[meteorite-list] AD OT Pope Hit by Meteorite /New Orleans connection

[E. L. Jones]

Michael Farmer wrote:

> Simple, you refuse to admit that the POPE does not belong on this list 
> unless a meteorite falls on him.


Actually....

*Pope-hit-by-meteorite sculpture auctioned for £620,000*

http://ananova.com/news/story/sm_297692.html 
<http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/Dial%20Protected>

A sculpture of The Pope crumpled under a black meteorite has been 
auctioned at Christies in New York for £620,000.

The Ninth Hour, by Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan, caused a stir in 
Poland last December when two outraged MPs removed the meteorite from it.

The room-sized sculpture features a life-size wax figure of Pope John 
Paul II felled by a meteorite and holding his processional cross.

He is surrounded by shattered glass, supposedly caused by the meteorite 
crashing through a skylight.

The winning bid of $886,000 (about £620,000) far exceeded the pre-sale 
estimate of $400,000 to $600,000 (about £280,000 to £419,000) at the 
auction.

AND

<http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/entertainment/magazine/11330293.htm>

*T*he pope died Saturday. So I'm going to share my one brush with the 
Holy Father.

Back in 1993, a buddy and I did the requisite, post-collegiate five-week 
trip through Europe armed with nothing but backpacks and Eurorail 
passes. We started in London and ended in Greece.

To our credit, we hit just about every major museum you can think of, 
plus a host of smaller ones, everything from the Prado to the Louvre to 
the Rijksmuseum. And when in Rome, we visited the Vatican.

I remember, walking from our hostel to St. Peter's Square, my friend, 
who is Catholic, venting about the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church, the 
way it historically oppressed women, etc., etc., etc. I'm not Catholic, 
and I didn't really have any thoughts on the matter, but that's what I 
remember.

When we got to St. Peter's Square, <snip>...

These days, I'm here at The Sun Herald, my buddy is a reporter at The 
Los Angeles Times and the pope is lying in state at the Vatican.

Two years ago, the house in New Orleans where my friend grew up, and 
where his parents still live, was hit by a meteorite. No joking - in the 
middle of the afternoon an actual meteorite fell from space, punched a 
hole through the roof of the house and then the floor, and bore down 
into the earth below. The cops were called, The Times-Picayune did 
several stories, but thank God no one was hurt.

When I heard about the incident, I wondered if maybe it was a delayed 
reaction from the heavens, a little karmic payback for my buddy for 
dissing Catholicism mere steps away from the Vatican. But it wasn't. 
Turns out a bunch of scientists and several universities were panting at 
the chance to get their hands on the remains of the meteorite, and 
willing to pay a bunch of money for it.

So there you go. That was my brush with greatness, my brush with the 
Pope. May he rest in peace.

Small world...

Elton