Two kids released white doves over St. Peter’s Square as a gesture of peace. A seagull went after one and a crow went after the other. Of all the details in that Facebook post, the one that needs correcting is who let go of the birds.
This happened at the Vatican on January 26, 2014. Pope Francis was at the open window with the kids. You can see their hands stretched out in the photos, and you can even read the pope’s cue in the Vatican transcript. After the children read a message at the end of Rome’s Caravan of Peace, Francis announced that the two of them would release the doves.
What happened to the doves?
The Associated Press report and photos from that Sunday tell the rest of the story. One dove wriggled free of the gull, losing a few feathers. The crow pecked at the other dove several times. Both doves flew off, and the reporters couldn’t say what happened to them afterward.
There’s one detail I wish had made it into the meme. A year later, according to the Vatican’s account of the January 2015 gathering, the kids still had a message to read, and there was still a big release in the square. This time? Hundreds of balloons.
