By Todd C. Frankel
Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Monday, Apr. 04 2005
The pope had sore feet.
That's what Gus Torregrossa of Gus's Fashions & Shoes in St. Louis says. And that's how Pope John Paul II came to own a pair of Reebok Classics, white leather, size 10 1/2 or 11.
It was January 1999. The pope was on his way to St. Louis. The archdiocese put out a call for help - the pope needed comfy sneakers. Torregrossa responded.
He had the perfect pair. He fitted them out with special gold-colored laces. He and his Reebok salesman couldn't recall on Monday the pontiff's exact size. But Pope John Paul II was a big, athletic man. They put it at 10 1/2 or 11.
Torregrossa said the shoes would've sold for $54 retail. But he didn't charge anything that time.
"Are you kidding? It's a blessing," he said.
It was not clear if the pope ever actually wore the shoes. But John Paul was known to wear sneakers from time to time. A photograph in 1996 showed him hiking in a pair of K-Swiss.
Torregrossa said he spotted the pope's Reeboks on TV this weekend while watching file footage of John Paul walking in a garden. "I nearly jumped out of my skin, I was so happy," he said.
Torregrossa has a letter from the Vatican about the shoes. The Vatican assessor thanked him on behalf of John Paul for the "the thoughtful gift."
Torregrossa, 67, a devout Catholic, keeps a replica pair of the Reeboks with golden laces in a plastic case on his fireplace mantel, next to a framed copy of the Vatican's thank-you note.
Torregrossa's contribution was small, but it loomed large for him still.
"I gave him shoes," he said.
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