The Elephant That Captivated the Pope and Lived in the Vatican Gardens

Originally published at National Catholic Register

Annone, a majestic 4-year-old albino elephant from India, five centuries ago was the pet of Pope Leo X. The white elephant amazed Rome.

During the Jan. 8 general audience held in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Pope Francis and those in attendance enthusiastically enjoyed a circus performance that included acrobatics and the unexpected appearance of two animatronic elephants, which quickly became the center of attention.

The picture of the Holy Father with the elephants inevitably evokes the memory of Annone, a majestic 4-year-old albino elephant from India, who five centuries ago was the pet of Pope Leo X and lived in the Vatican Gardens.

Renaissance fresco in the Branconio Chapel, of the Church of San Silvestro in L’Aquila, depicting the elephant given as a present to Pope Leo X by King Emanuel I of Portugal in 1514. | Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the Spanish-language book The Vatican as It Has Never Been Told to You, journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal narrates the details of the unusual friendship between the Pontiff, who belonged to the Medici family, and this elephant that crossed the seas from Lisbon to Italy as a gift from King Manuel I of Portugal.

Manuel