The story of Adriano Stefanelli, the Pope’s shoemaker: from Novara to the Vatican, the handcrafted shoes made for three pontiffs.
The story of Adriano Stefanelli seems to come out of an Italian provincial novel, one of those in which talent remains silent until it knocks on the right door. Stefanelli was born and works in Novara, in a small and essential workshop, where time passes to the rhythm of hand-cut leather and wooden shapes worn over the years. He is a shoemaker in the purest sense of the term, someone who doesn’t talk about fashion but about posture, balance, real comfort.
It was 2004 when, while working in his laboratory, Stefanelli saw Saint John Paul II suffering during the Via Crucis on television. Those images affected him deeply. He decides to help the pontiff by doing the one thing he does really well: a pair of shoes. Without any direct contact with the Vatican, it estimates the size of the Pope’s foot by observing his build and creates a soft model, designed to relieve pain, lined in sponge to ensure maximum comfort. Once the job is done, he ships those special shoes without fanfare or expectations. The answer, however, did not take long to arrive. They fit perfectly.
From that moment on, the relationship with the Vatican has never been broken. Over the years Adriano Stefanelli has created customized footwear for three Popes. After the death of John Paul II, he began working on a new pair, this time at the request of Monsignor Stanisław Dziwisz, for Benedict XVI. Then it will be the turn of Francis and finally Leo XIV.
Each shoe seems to tell the story of the man it was created for. From the rubber half sole loved by John Paul II to the iconic shiny red leather moccasins chosen by Benedict XVI, a tribute to the Byzantine tradition and evocation of the blood of the martyrs. Up to the slippers with the papal coat of arms embroidered, a gift with a strong symbolic value for Francis. And the new pontiff? Only black shoes, no exceptions.
