Italian tailor known for dressing past popes, could be part of Pope Leo XIV's installation Mass

ROME (WLS) -- When Pope Leo XIV steps out for his official installation on Sunday, the vestments he wears will speak, at least in some way, for him and his papacy.

ABC7 Chicago's Liz Nagy interviewed the man who, more than likely, is crafting the pope's chosen liturgical wear.

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Deep in his shop in the Borgo in Rome sits Raniero Mancinelli, perched in his form of prayer: at the sewing machine.

Fine Italian thread feeds through his olive green, stationary sewing machine. It's the same one he's used for more than 60 years, stitching together the elaborate vestments of the Vatican.

Mancinelli said in Italian he dressed Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis.

Since 1962, Mancinelli has crafted cassocks of cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons.

His stoles, capes, robes and accessories are coveted pieces for resident Catholic and visiting Christian clergy.

Shopping with him is a sort of spiritual rite of passage.

SEE ALSO: Pope Leo's childhood home in Dolton now up for auction

"When one goes on a journey, one wants to take something home with them," said Father Thapelo Masemola, an Anglican priest from Johannesburg, South Africa. "Coming to Borgo Clero specifically is almost like participating in history, bringing in some sort of antiquity."

The walls of the unofficial papal haberdashery are akin to the Smithsonian collection of inaugural gowns: Framed photos show popes past cloaked in Mancincelli's handmade cassocks.

When the Vatican released a photo of three papal cassocks in waiting last week, Mancinelli said, through his grandson Tomas translating, he thinks his was chosen by Pope Leo.

But even that is a well-guarded secret.

"He said that he's pretty sure that was his because some people in the Vatican that he knows told him," Mancinelli said.

Just a few cobblestone blocks from the Vatican, cardinals of the world passed through to snag their Sunday best for the installation of an American pope.

With his trusty tape measure draped around his neck, Mancinelli was more than happy to oblige.

"He's very fulfilled by the fact that everyone thinks that his job is the best and important," Mancinelli said.

It's so important that he won't reveal if he's dressing Pope Leo on Sunday, but styling an American pontiff would be Mancinelli's honor.

Mancinelli will be dressing many of the guests. But, he, too, will be there to witness Pope Leo's installation.