A woman from Bendera village in Baragoi, Samburu County knit Pope Francis a 'hat' known as mitre, which was presented to him by a bishop some years back.
Lydia Letipila was requested to make the mitre by a group of women who wanted to gift their bishop.
Bishop Virgilio Pante, who was handed the mitre by the women, wore it for five years before he gifted it to the pope.
“The hat was old. I took it to a woman in Maralal town for a repair. I asked her to clean it and replace worn out beads before I presented it as a gift to the Pope in Rome,” the bishop stated.
The 66-year-old did not expect that the hat he had knitted would one day be worn by the Pope.
"I sold the hat at a small price to recover the money I had used in buying materials after I was told it would be presented as a gift to the man of God. I couldn’t have charged them anything were it not for the challenges I face,” she said, referring to lack of money to buy the beads.
During the ad limina apostolorum (a visit of Kenyan Bishops to the Pope), Bishop Pante presented the Pope with the gift.
Letipila had used skin, beads and red linen to make the hat.
On November 26, the Pope wore the hat during a Mass that had been held at the University of Nairobi when he visited.
“I greeted and asked the Pope if he had brought with him the gift mitre I gave him in Rome. He responded, ‘you will see it tomorrow at Mass’,” Bishop Pante told Daily Nation.
