Chico (1995-2012) is a
cat who is the narrator of an authorized
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
of Pope
Benedict XVI.
The illustrated
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
is titled ''Joseph e Chico: Un gatto racconta la vita di Papa Benedetto XVI''. The
Italian original has been translated into
English as ''Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told By a Cat''.
The character of Chico is based on a real cat, a
tabby, who lived in the town of
Pentling,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, where Joseph Ratzinger had lived for 20 years before moving to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as a
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
.
Chico was born on April 15, 1995.
The book was written by
Jeanne Perego and illustrated by
Donata Dal Molin Casagrande. It has an introduction by the Rev.
Georg Gänswein, the Pope's personal secretary.
[Rizzo, Alessandra]
"Chico the Cat Tells Pope's Life Story"
''Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
'', 4 October 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
References
Individual cats
1995 animal births
2012 animal deaths
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