Believe it or not Pope Benedict XVI is a major cat lover. And why shouldn’t he be? They help you relax, easy your stress levels, provide many health benefits, and often lead to better piece of mind….just like the Pontiff.  The Pope is currently visiting Sydney Australia where he plans on attending World Youth Day, a trip that took him 20 hours to make. Many may not know this (I myself had no clue) but Benedict’s home in Germany has tons of pets to keep him company. A gift from the children of Sydney, the Pope was given an 11 month-old kitten by the name of Bella in hopes of helping him relax after such a long trip.

According to one person who witnessed the exchange “Some of the faithful brought Bella into the Pope’s retreat to keep him company while he plays the piano. He is well known for his love of cats and the piano, and we wanted to make him feel at home” While staying in Sydney the Pope will have access to numerous private facilities specifically geared towards making his stay as relaxing as possible. “We wanted to make it a genuine house of welcome for the Holy Father and to make it a place where he can really recharge his batteries after the longest flight he’s ever done. He was very excited when he got off the plane. He looked a little tired, as you might expect . . . but he’s very focused and very excited about the week ahead” said a spokesman from the World Youth Day celebration. With Bella around there’s no doubt that the Pope will be fully prepared to greet the masses this week and is most assuredly thrilled at the thought of introducing his new kitty to the rest of the group back at home.