Friday, March 24, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI created 15 cardinals (from all over the world including: U.S.A., Italy, Spain, S. Korea, Ghana, Poland, France, Philippines, Venezuela, and China) at the consistory (the meeting of the College of Cardinals to advise the Pope on important matters) held in St. Peter’s Basilica. A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official ranked below the pope who advises him, runs the Roman Curia, and may lead his own diocese or archdiocese. He wears red as a reminder of the blood of the martyrs. Priests wear black as a sign of death to this world (not that creation is evil but rather anything opposed to God) while their white collar signifies the yoke of Christ. Close to this time last year the College of Cardinals met at what is called a conclave in order to elect our current Holy Father.
Unfortunately I was not able to attend the consistory because I had to attend class. A consistory only happens every three years or so. It would have been worth it to skip my classes but I am on a team of ‘note-takers’. We have a complex system in order to learn as much theology as we can since our classes are taught in Italian. Some of us take notes, others redact all the notes, others take them to the copy shop, others manage the electronic files, etc.
However, later on Friday afternoon a relatively small portion (which is huge) of the papal household was open to the public in order to congratulate the 15 new cardinals. The hours were from 4:30-6:30. We arrived a little after 4 to wait in the rain in an Italian style line (which means a mob of people on top of each other) for an hour and half to get in. It was totally worth it. Despite the rain and the pushing and shoving it was great to see so many people from all over the world showing support and love for their bishops and the Church. Many of the Spaniards held a pep rally and the Koreans prayed the Stations of the Cross (commonly prayed by Catholics every Friday especially during Lent).
Once inside I stood in line to meet Cardinal O’Malley, archbishop of Boston. The other new cardinal is Cardinal Levada who is the Prefect of Doctrine of the Faith (the office Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, had). I didn’t have time to greet him but I had the privilege of meeting him while he stayed at the North American College until his apartment was being prepared. I also served for him at a Mass at the official Portuguese church in Rome earlier this year. His family heritage is Portuguese as is mine.
The Swiss guards were trying to limit the flow of the crowds all over the household by asking who you wanted to greet. Even at the entrance (after waiting for nearly 2 hours) if someone didn’t know the names of the new cardinals they wanted to see then they weren’t allowed in. I memorized a couple of names and was able to see most of the papal household which was open to the public. I attempted to take pictures but many of the rooms were dark and my pictures didn’t turn out well.
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