Pope Leo XIV has accepted an unusual new gift from a Polish breeder — a white Arabian stallion named Proton.
Presented just before Wednesday’s General Audience and now destined to be stabled at the Vatican’s equestrian centre in Castel Gandolfo, the horse was a gift from Andrzej Michalski, who said his decision was inspired by an image of the Pope on horseback — an echo of his early missionary ministry — and by the symbolism of white as resonant with the papal cassock.
Michalski, founder of the Michalski Stud Farm in north-western Poland, has long championed the therapeutic value of horses. His facility runs a programme of hippotherapy for children with disabilities, using equine movement to support neuromotor and cognitive rehabilitation.
