Habemus papam! It happened yesterday at St. Louis School in Arlington, Virginia. In a post, Fr. Z quotes an email: These young men were largely from the corps of Altar Servers. The Parochial Adminstrator, Fr Zuberbueler, and the school principal, Dan Balliageron, pulled out all the stops. Check out more pictures at the link. This raises Catholic geekiness to a whole new level. But it’s a great way to teach kids about how to elect a pope. And who... Read more
One man’s remarkable journey, via the Catholic Sun: He was a married deacon who found his calling among Catholic singles. Deacon Jim Mickens, who touched the hearts of many Catholic singles in the Diocese of Phoenix, said farewell Jan. 27. Ongoing health problems forced him and his wife, Janice, to move closer to his wife’s family in Pennsylvania. “He always promoted that the most important thing in life is the search for Christ, even if that means losing your family,... Read more
The latest on the uber-blogger, from Poynter: During an interview this weekend with Philadelphia Inquirer culture reporter Stephan Salisbury, Vatican blogger Rocco Palmo whipped out his iPad and canceled his flight to Rome. Palmo had planned to be near the Vatican for the next two weeks of historic doings, but the cost of the trip proved too much. “The hotels!” he exclaims. “The media people going over are getting hosed!” “People in Rome were calling me up this morning saying, ‘If... Read more
It happened at my parish this weekend — and no doubt, at countless others around the world: the priest, out of habit, accidentally mentioned the name of Benedict during the Eucharistic Prayer. It’s one small change to the liturgy that takes place during the “sede vacante” period. CNS has more: The resignation of the pope, the bishop of Rome, triggered changes in the Mass texts — particularly in the eucharistic prayers — used by priests all over the world. For... Read more
Those who have nothing better to do this afternoon will be able to catch Your Humble Blogger chatting away with Lino Rulli on Sirius Satellite Radio. I’ll be on sometime around 5:30 ET, discussing various things papal—including media coverage of the resignation. For me, it marks a return trip to “The Catholic Guy”—I visited a couple years back to persuade Lino to become a deacon. We can all see how well that turned out. Anyway: the coolest thing about... Read more
E.J. Dionne has some interesting answers in the Washington Post today, and draws insight from Fr. Timothy Radcliffe: The conflict goes back to competing reactions to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council inaugurated in the 1960s by Pope John XXIII. The relevant camps — Radcliffe describes them in his 2005 book, “What Is the Point of Being a Christian?” — are the “Kingdom Catholics” and the “Communion Catholics.” The Kingdom Catholics, corresponding to those we usually call progressive, were... Read more
Great news from the In My Backyard Desk: Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio petitioned the Vatican last year to give Cathedral status to St. Joseph’s, the largest church in the Brooklyn diocese. Pope Emeritus Benedict granted the request before he resigned. DiMarzio will be the Pastor of St. Joseph’s, which will now serve as the seat of the Bishop. Able to seat about 1,500 people, the cathedral will now serve as the scene of major events like Christmas mass. “It’s preferred that... Read more
And they have a lot on their plate. Details: Cardinals from around the world gathered Monday inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI’s decision to retire. Cardinals were treated like rock stars as they entered the Vatican on Monday morning, with television crews swarming around the red-capped churchmen and their handlers pushing their way through... Read more
Details: This week’s cover by Barry Blitt, “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi,” is not the first time that a Pope has been portrayed on our cover. “I wish I could say something in Latin to make the image sound smart,” said Blitt, when asked what inspired him. The New Yorker has other pope-themed illustrations on display at its website. Read more
Some ideas, from Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George, interviewed by NCR’s John Allen. A snip: There’s got to be an identification with Jesus as shepherd of his church. The mystery of Jesus is infinite, but there’s a certain dimension of it that’s particularly necessary for being a pastor. Quite apart from personal sanctity, you have to know Jesus enough to represent him to his people, so it’s governance. The issue is governance here. Hopefully, he’ll be a pious man … he... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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