Pope falls victim to Catalan ‘shitter’ tradition

The ceramic statuettes have been sold in the northeastern Catalonia region since the 18th century.

Catalonians hide caganers ("shitters" in Catalan) in Christmas Nativity scenes and invite friends to find them. The figures symbolise fertilisation, hope and prosperity for the coming year.

Among the new caganers expected to fly off the shelves are La Liga's star rookies: Real Madrid's new Welsh winger Gareth Bale and Barcelona's Brazilian prodigy Neymar.

"There's more sport and less politics, which once in a while is not unpleasant," Marc Alos, whose family is the leading "shitter" producer, told AFP.

Pope Francis was also joined by his predecessor Benedict XVI, South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela and reggae legend Bob Marley in this year's new releases.