“He was really down to earth with them all [the student priests] and when they handed him the bottle, instead of just handing it to his assistant as he normally would with a gift, he held it up and said ‘Questa e la vera acqua santa’, which means ‘This is the real holy water.’”
WHAT??
The Pope said that?
He was kidding.
Scotch whisky fans didn’t need any spiritual confirmation that their drink of choice is divine indeed.
However, it doesn’t hurt that Pope Francis has actually declared Scotch whisky to be ‘the real holy water’. It’s important to note that he did say it as a light-hearted joke to the Scottish student priests who offered him a bottle as a gift at a reception in the Vatican.
NOTE:
Not being Catholic, I had to look-up to confirm exactly what "holy water" means:
holy water is water that has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects, or as a means of repelling evil
Ah, OK.
I'm sure there are some Catholics out there who would absolutely love the idea of being blessed with whiskey. :)
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt