Can't march in Paris? Pope Francis ‘marching shoes’ adds to symbolic action

Pope Francis will be represented at an installation of ‘marching shoes’ in Paris, after agreeing that a pair of shoes bearing his name should join thousands of others donated by Parisians after the cancelation of a huge climate march following the Paris attacks.

The installation in Paris will be one of more than 2,300 events in 150 countries around the world as part of the Global Climate March on the eve of the Paris climate talks. The shoe-in was arranged by the worldwide citizen’s network Avaaz, after police canceled the march planned for Paris, which was expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people. The event is supported by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, which has been helping throughout the globe to get Catholic engaged in the global marches.

The Pope, who is currently in Africa, will have a pair of shoes at the installation bearing his name and the inscription Laudato Si' .

The pontiff's shoes will share the spotlight with those of his close friends Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, President of the Pan-Amazonic Church Network (REPAM), and Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

“All members of the Catholic community are warmly invited to offer their support in prayer, word and action," said Cardinal Turkson, who recently released a letter to the Church's high-ranking Catholic leaders asking their support of climate marches and other event.

"And we’re inviting all the bishops and priests around the world to offer the celebration of the Eucharist, on 29 November, for a responsible and successful international conference and summit. We want to encourage the faithful and many others to exercise their ecological citizenship.”

Other religious leaders have also signed shoes to join in the "marching" for an ambitious climate agreement, while also making a silent statement against violence.

Emma Ruby-Sachs, Avaaz acting Executive Director, said that “together with the hundreds of thousands who will take to the streets around the world this weekend, the Pope is sending a powerful signal that leaders arriving for the Paris summit simply must not ignore.”

With the pope's shoes in the news, stay tuned for the return of the Prada rumors around B16's shoes. Pope Francis's predecessor wore a traditional pair of red shoes made by Adriano Stefanelli, a shoe maker in Novara, Italy who has supplied shoes to other Christian leaders and even to Barak Obama. A rumor had spread through social media, especially after the election of Pope Francis, that erroneously claimed Benedict XVI' shoes to have been made by Prada.

People in Paris can drop off their shoes off between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm every day until November 28 (inclusive) at Place de la Republique, at the beginning of the street Faubourg du Temple.