Pope Francis keeps an old promise, visits record shop & receives classical CD in return

The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis, who grew up listening to radio operas, was seen coming out from a downtown record shop in Rome on late Tuesday with a CD in his hand. The visit by the 85-year-old to the CD shop came as a surprise, as he enjoys Argentine tango, and believes Mozart "lifts you to God," as per AP. Further, this unexpected visit was recorded on camera by a Vatican reporter who by chance was present nearby.  

The director of the Rome Reports news agency, Javier Martinez Brocal claimed that he was near the Pantheon in Rome's neighbourhood when he observed a white Fiat 500 with Vatican license number plates and some police vehicles parked in front of the Stereosound store. According to Martinez Brocal, Pope Francis went inside the shop and spent around 12 minutes, further conversing with the owners. 

The incident took place as Pope Francis had promised to pay the shop owner a visit when he met with the pontiff at the Vatican. During his visit to the shop, Francis did not purchase anything. Further, Javier Martinez Brocal claimed that the shop owners did, however, give him a classical music CD.

Pope Francis prayed for victims' families amid Kazakhstan unrest

In addition to this, amid the ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan, earlier on 9 January, Pope Francis had appealed for talks and justice in Kazakhstan to put a stop to the nation's deadly conflict, saying he was pained by reports of deaths there. “I have learned with sorrow that there have been victims during the protests that have broken out in recent days in Kazakhstan,” he said, the Catholic News Agency reported.  

According to Kazakhstan's Health Ministry, 164 people were murdered in Kazakhstan during the previous week, which even included two children, Sputnik reported. He went on to say that he had prayed for them and their families. “I hope that social harmony will be restored as soon as possible through the search for dialogue, justice, and the common good,” he added.