Overview
- Polish breeder Andrzej Michalski presented the 12-year-old stallion, Proton, and said the Pope was delighted by the gesture.
- A video posted on X by journalist Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi shows Leo leading the grey, dark-speckled horse a few metres inside the Vatican.
- Reports indicate Proton will be housed at Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome.
- Michalski said he intends for the horse to be auctioned with proceeds benefiting people in need, though no sale has been arranged.
- The stallion’s pedigree includes sire Kahil from a Qatari program in the United States and dam Pradera descending from stock linked to Jordan’s Princess Alia al-Hussein.