pope francis

While Pope Francis addressed Congress Sept. 24, New York City waited for his arrival. It was the perfect time to prank the Big Apple.

So, Madame Tassaud's drove around a new wax statue of the Pontiff in a convertible, leading to many turned heads, many selfies, many confused looks, many traffic snarls and at least one investigation by authorities.

Local news channel 6ABC has the story:

The wax figure of the pope was part of a publicity stunt for Madame Tassaud, which added it to its collection in advance of Pope Francis' visit to the United States. The company drove it around Midtown, hours before the pope's expected arrival.

Someone who saw the figure of the pope riding down Fifth Avenue was concerned, snapped a photo and sent it to the New York City Police Department.

Officers investigated and found that the pope wasn't really in the back of the white convertible, which hardly looked like the popemobile. The actual Pope Francis was addressing Congress at the time the replica was spotted in NYC.

No charges were filed in the incident, but Madame Tassaud personnel apologized to officers for not having a front license plate - a state motor vehicle violation.

One reporter even took a video of the goof.

Pope Francis is now officially a baller.

The Harlem Globetrotters paid a visit to the Vatican on Wednesday, and they performed a few tricks with the pope during his weekly meet-and-greet with the public.

At one point he tried to spin a basketball on his finger, but it didn’t stay up for very long. And the second attempt was even worse.

But he appeared to enjoy the whole experience nonetheless.

The team also gave him a jersey with his name and the number 90 on it (because the Globetrotters are 90 years old), and they said that he could play with them as an honorary member.

Pope John Paul II was also made an honorary Golbetrotter back in 2000.

The Globetrotters posted some more images of their meeting with Francis on Twitter.

Today we met with @Pontifex (Pope Francis) & named him an Honorary @Globies. Photo © L'Osservatore Romano Foto. pic.twitter.com/zvzV7QgWz2

— Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) May 6, 2015

Granted, it was in Italian, but the crowd didn't seem particularly phased. According to the Daily Mail the transcription goes something like:

'For this, Jesus many times chastised the rich because the risk for them to seek security in the wealth of this world is high.

'In this f*, in this case the providence of God is made visible as gesture of solidarity.'

On the internet, the slip-up generated hundreds of comments with many explaining that it was a common mistake made by Spanish speakers and others said it underlined their impression of him as a 'man of the people.'

If you've been paying attention to gigantic cardboard cutouts in your local movie theater lately, Russel Crowe is starring in Darren Aronofsky's Noah. The film (according to the trailer at least) promises to infuse the classic Biblical story with all the flair and destruction-oogling and superstar scene-stealing that defines blockbusters today. So, you know, the perfect movie for an austere Jesuit Pope.

Crowe was gosh-darn consistent trying to get the Pope's attention though:



And for the record, here's the trailer:



See? Perfect Pope-ly viewing material.

This life-sized chocolate likeness of Pope Francis was presented during Wednesday's general audience. Regrettably, the Jesuit oath of poverty may prevent his holiness from eating the statue and getting the most righteous stomach ache ever.

The Francis
• 1 oz. Fernet Branca
• 1 oz. Aged moscato grappa
• 1 oz. Carpano Antica (Red vermouth)
• ½ tsp. Bénédictine
• 2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters