Pope
The pope calls down a blessing on the carnival procession.
Carnival is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras as it is also known. This day is the last one before the commencement of the religious fast known as Lent.
The word, carnival, has come to mean "party time", but it is actually derived from the words carne and levare, meaning meat and to put away. On this day Roman Catholics used to "shrive" themselves - they cleansed their souls by making a confession, before a priest, of any misdemeanour's - but they also made the most of their last day of plenty. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday", and the fat referred to was not body-mass but juicy animal fat. In England we celebrate the day by making pancakes, and this is because throughout Lent a devout Roman Catholic eats neither meat ("carne") or eggs; he lives on vegetables and prayer.
Carnival today means minimalist bikinis and maximum glitz and glamour. Some would say that the spirit of the festival has been perverted.
Perhaps this make-believe pope is seeking to make amends...