So…. Who’s Getting Up VERY EARLY to Watch the Mass?

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Tomorrow’s the big day:  At 10:00 a.m. Rome time (yep, that’s 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time!), the Cardinals will gather in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff (Mass Pro Eligendo).  The principal celebrant will be His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals.  If you are a morning person with the unadulterated will to rise at that hour, you will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see all of the Cardinals in the world gather to celebrate the Eucharist.

Or, you can sleep in and watch the reruns later in the day.

For those who plan to rise early and join the Cardinals in prayer for the opening liturgy of the Conclave, you have a few options:

  • Watch live on EWTN.  Coverage begins at 4:45 a.m.
  • Livestream via the HD Vatiplayer. http://www.vatican.va/video/
  • On your smartphone or tablet, use the “Pope App” on either iOS or Android. 

The Holy See has released the worship aid for the rites.  It’s 74 pages long—so rather than using all that paper, you can simply follow along at the link.

Later in the day, at 4:30 p.m. Rome time, the Cardinals will process from the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace into the Sistine Chapel, praying and reciting the Litany of the Saints.  Once they enter the Sistine Chapel, the great doors will close—and the Conclave will begin.

PRAYER FOR THE CONCLAVE TO ELECT THE SUCCESSOR TO POPE BENEDICT XVI

Heavenly Father, We the People of God, gathered in solidarity as did the disciples in the Upper Room, pray for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the cardinals who will be in conclave for the election of the next Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the hearts of our cardinals be open to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, beyond human judgment, to elect the candidate most pleasing to you, Heavenly Father, and who will guide the Church at this momentous time in history at the beginning of the Third Millennium.

We invoke our Mother Mary, united in prayer with the disciples in the Upper Room, to intercede for the cardinals to select the next Holy Father in docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, her divine Spouse.

Holy Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, we entrust this conclave to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, and offer these prayers for your guidance and protection over the choosing of the next Vicar of your Son.

Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Filed Under: Catholic, Parenting, Vatican Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

The Oath of Secrecy: Because You Can’t Be Too Careful

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The media has been abuzz with news about the phone-jamming equipment being installed on the walls and under the raised flooring in the Sistine Chapel, which will ensure that one enthusiastic Cardinal doesn’t spoil the surprise for the world, when a new Pope is elected.

But what about the other people who work inside the walls of Vatican City, and who may hear the Princes of the Church chatting over dinner, sharing a joke in the hallway at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, or whispering secrets in the sacristy before Mass?

Swiss Guards are among Vatican staff who will take the oath of secrecy.

In fact, everyone in the Vatican is sworn to secrecy—so that when the Cardinal Protodeacon steps out onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and proclaims “Habemus Papam” (“We Have a Pope”), we won’t have read it first in the National Enquirer.

But how do they avoid a potential “Vatileak”—especially in the case of such profoundly important news?

The American Cardinals may speak candidly on their bus to the General Congregation– so their bus driver, too, must take the oath.

The Vatican Information Service offers a helpful explanation.  First, they report, the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff  has announced that at 5:30 p.m. today in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the officers and assistants of the Conclave process will take the oath of secrecy.

The Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” (No. 46) prescribes that all, both ecclesiastic and secular persons, who serve in support positions and who are involved with the Conclave in any way must receive prior approval from the Cardinal Camerlengo and the three Cardinal Assistants.  The staff (drivers, hotel staff, drycleaners, gardeners, household help and more) who have been investigated and pre-approved will take the oath of secrecy, as prescribed in No. 48 of that document.  Those staffers entrusted with confidential information include:

  • Vatican drivers are exposed to all manner of confidential information, and so must pledge to maintain secrecy.

    The Secretary of the College of Cardinals

  • The master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff
  • The masters of pontifical ceremonies
  • The religious who supervise the pontifical sacristy
  • The ecclesiastic chosen by the cardinal dean to help him in his duties
  • The religious charged with hearing confessions in the various languages
  • Doctors and nurses
  • The personnel for preparing meals and cleaning
  • Florist staff and technical service personnel (UDG, Nos. 5 and 51)
  • Personnel responsible for transporting the Cardinal electors from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to the Apostolic Palace
  • Elevator attendants at the Apostolic Palace
  • The Colonel and a Major of the Corps of Pontifical Swiss Guards responsible for surveillance around the Sistine Chapel
  • The Director of Security and Civil Protection Services with some assistants.

Vatican guides and staffers must be well prepared, well informed, and very loyal.

They will first be instructed on the meaning of the oath.  Then, each employee will have to pronounce and personally sign the prescribed formula before Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B. Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church, and in the presence of two apostolic protonotaries.

Filed Under: Catholic, Rome, Vatican Tagged With: Leave a Comment