Rome ecclesiastical tailor who dresses popes and Catholic cardinals

With a tape measure around his neck and thimble on his finger, Raniero Mancinelli slides a needle into a black cassock with red piping destined for a Catholic cardinal.

“It takes two or three days to make an outfit: taking the measurements, cutting it out, and putting it all together,” according to the 86-year-old Italian, one of the last ecclesiastical tailors in Rome.

“They trust me and I know what I have to do, depending on where they live, the climate, their financial means,” said Mancinelli, bushy black eyebrows moving animatedly above rectangular glasses, his hands stroking a tiny silver goatee.

Gold chalices, embroidered headdresses, signet rings and rosaries with gleaming crucifixes fill the shop’s display cases.