Illustration by Caty BartholomewOur aunt Marytee went to Rome to see the Pope the year that I was about 10 and she brought me back a special gift, then unique in Ireland It was a one-inch thick flickerbook with a photo of then Pope Pius XII giving his papal blessing on every page of hundredsWhen you riffled the pages there was the optical illusion of his hands moving as he delivered a very personal blessing to the viewer That was a very special gift to bring home to a Catholic boy in the fifties READ MORE