Pope says ‘bad luck’ led a reporter to photograph him leaving record store, but thanks him for doing his job

Popes, they are just like us.

Pope Francis has attributed his recent gotcha moment to a simple case of “bad luck.” On Tuesday, the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church paid a visit to some friends who run a record store in Rome.

Francis, who had gone into the newly renovated Stereo Sound shop near the Pantheon to give his papal blessing, hoped that his affair would remain under wraps.

Unfortunately, his plan didn’t go as planned, as a reporter named Javier Martinez-Brocal, of the Rome Reports television news agency, also happened to be in the same area at just the right time.

In this image from video made available by Javier Martinez Brocal of Rome Reports, Pope Francis leaves a record shop in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. (Javier Martinez Brocal/)

Martinez-Brocal, who’s not a paparazzo, couldn’t resist the unusual sighting and filmed the fascinating incident with his smartphone, shared it on Twitter, and the rest is viral history.

Thankfully, the Vicar of Christ understood the meme-like quality of his outing and took it like a seasoned social media-age celebrity: by acknowledging the occasion and poking fun at it.

On Thursday, the 85-year-old pontiff wrote a letter to the reporter, which was then shared with the world.

“You can’t deny that it was a case of bad luck … that after taking all the precautions, there was a reporter there at the taxi rank,” Francis wrote.

“You can’t lose your sense of humor,” he added. “Thanks for doing your job, even if it did put the pope in difficulty.”

According to Reuters, the Argentinean-born pope arrived at the store in a white Fiat 500, which was driven by a Vatican employee, and stayed in the store for about 15 minutes.

The owners of the store later told reporters that they had met Francis years ago — back when he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, and would stop by the store to buy classical music CDs when he was in Rome attending to church business.