VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) – Pope Francis’ choice of a “rainbow” logo by an Italian massage therapist is sparking a firestorm, with a phone number linking the designer to a gay porn website.
At a press conference in the Apostolic Palace on Tuesday, the Vatican declared Giacomo Travisani — a practitioner of New Age, sensual and healing massage therapies — the winner of its contest for the logo of the Jubilee Year 2025.
Travisani wiped his personal Facebook page clean on Friday morning as controversy over his sexuality and profession escalated, after outspoken Catholic politician and writer Mario Adinolfi alleged the logo’s designer was a homosexual.
A mobile phone number on the therapist’s professional Facebook page has been identified as the same number on a gay porn website. The number advertises, in Italian, a “beautiful massager for single men, couples … at home.”
In the description, the advertiser describes himself as a “nice masseur, dark, cute, beef, male, performs only at home, anti-stress massage for him only or couples” offering “50 minutes of relaxation, well-being and intense pleasure.”
Pope Francis personally picked Travisani’s logo as the winner out of the top three chosen submissions, Abp. Rino Fisichella told reporters, insisting that entries were identified only by a number to ensure the anonymity of the designers.