CNA Staff, 07 May, 2025 / 5:00 pm (ACI Africa).
When Pope Leo XIII was elected in 1878, the story goes that he wept. At age 67, he thought he was too old for the job. (He lived to be the second-oldest pope and died at the age of 93).
When in 1958 Pope John XXIII looked in the mirror at his white vestments — pinned in various places due to his large size — he joked that he would be a “disaster on television.”
It’s no wonder that, for the newly-elected popes throughout history, the antechamber of the Sistine Chapel holding the papal garments became more than just a room in which to change their clothes.
The small room where the newly-elected pope changes from the red clothes of a cardinal to the white vestments of a pope is known as the “Room of Tears,” (“Stanza delle Lacrime” in Italian). In case that wasn’t weighty enough, others call it the “Crying Room.”
The Room of Tears is just a few feet away from the Sistine Chapel, where the monumental decision of the papal election is made.
