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VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-LIFESTYLE
Pope urges hairdressers to cut gossip
VATICAN CITY, April 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Pope Francis on Monday welcomed
hairdressers, hairstylists and beauticians to the Vatican but warned them not
to indulge in gossip while feathering locks or painting fingernails.
“Practise your profession in a Christian style, treating customers with
kindness and courtesy, and always offering them a good word and
encouragement,” he said.
Snip split ends and wax limbs while “avoiding giving in to the temptation
of chatter that easily creeps into your work environment,” he urged them
during an audience in the Vatican.
He said the cosmetologists should be guided by their patron saint,
Peruvian Martino de Porres, a 16th-century barber-surgeon whose miracles
include levitation, being in two places at once, instant cures, and an
ability to communicate with animals.
De Porres, who is also the patron saint of mixed-race people, innkeepers
and public health workers, was a barber-surgeon in Lima, an ancient trade
which covered everything from haircuts to amputations and bloodletting.
“Each of you, in your professional work, can always act with
righteousness, thus making a positive contribution to the common good of
society,” Francis said.
The Argentine pontiff opened a barber shop and washrooms for the homeless
in Saint Peter’s Square in 2015.
BSS/AFP/RY/1801 hrs