VATICAN—Bishop Enrico Ricardo of Cacahuete, Spain is kicking himself for swatting at a fly the exact moment that Dame Sarah Mullally began giving a blessing in the Clementine Chapel. The result was a photo that spread around Tuesday which allegedly showed him making the sign of the cross in reception of the blessing.

Ricardo claims that he was not even there to attend the Mullally’s visit. “I was touring the Vatican with a group from my diocese and we got separated in the middle of St. Peter’s,” Ricardo told a Spanish news outlet. “I began to wander, and before I knew it, I was down in the grotto crypt and surrounded by cameras. I was worried that the media had followed me here for an interview, but my worry turned to pious fury when I saw a woman [Mullally] dressed as a bishop.”

Ricardo went on to explain “since a woman dressed as a cleric is an affront to God, I went to say something, when I was suddenly swarmed by a pesky fly.”

It was at that moment that the media took the now infamous photo where it appears Ricardo was receiving a blessing from Mullally.

Ricardo called the media reports “outrageous! How could they not ask me for a comment? This is exactly like last time!”

The “last time” was in 2019 when Fr. Ricardo was on tour of the Vatican Gardens. “It was a great tour, but I accidentally tripped and face planted right as the media was taking a photo of people kneeling before the Pachamama statue. It took me five years to convince the priests of the diocese that I do not worship a South American goddess.”