Pope creates 22 cardinals
By Christopher Gunty
editor@CatholicReview.org
VATICAN CITY – In a ceremony steeped in tradition, the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s apostolic administrator and archbishop emeritus, Edwin F. O’Brien, was elevated Feb. 18 by Pope Benedict XVI to the rank of cardinal.
As a "prince of the church," Cardinal O’Brien vowed to "remain faithful to Christ and his Gospel" and received a red biretta (a three-cornered hat), a ring and assignment of a titular church, making him a member of the clergy of Rome, which advise the pope and eventually elect his successor.
Also among the 22 churchmen elevated to the College of Cardinals was Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York.
The red vestments of the cardinal signal the passion of Christ. In the solemn ritual to place the red hat on each new cardinal’s head, the pope said, "Receive the scarlet biretta as a sign of the dignity of the cardinalate, signifying your readiness to act with courage, even to the shedding of your own blood, for the increase of the Christian faith, for the peace and tranquility of the people of God, and for the freedom and growth of the Holy Roman Church."
Cardinal O’Brien said receiving the honor was "a real spiritual moment for me. I just hope that it’s a sign of good things to come and success in my work."
He and the pope exchanged a few words as a sign of peace after his elevation. "I told him I was grateful and I would put my whole heart into the work in support of the church, by the grace of God, and he told me I would receive the graces."
In his homily for the ceremony, the pope made reference to the Gospel reading from Mark, in which James and John ask to be seated at the right and left of the Lord when he comes into his glory. Pope Benedict noted that Jesus tells the apostles they don’t know what they are asking for, and that the Passion of Christ calls for great sacrifice and acceptance of the will of God. "Serving God and others, self-giving: this is the logic which authentic faith imparts and develops in our daily lives and which is not the type of power and glory which belongs to this world," the pope said.
"Dear brothers who are to be enrolled in the College of Cardinals, may Christ’s total gift of self on the cross be for you the foundation, stimulus and strength of a faith operative in charity. May your mission in the Church and the world always be ‘in Christ’ alone, responding to his logic and not that of the world. …"
Cardinal O’Brien said the ceremony and the pope’s remarks underlined that becoming a cardinal "is not a reward, it brings on greater responsibilities – something the pope experiences every day" in his ministry to the universal church.
He said while "one hopes it doesn’t happen too soon," the most important task of a Catholic cardinal is to elect a new pope, Cardinal O’Brien said. "It’s a weighty responsibility and always in the back of one’s mind."
The pope presented each new cardinal with a gold ring, emblazoned with the images of Ss. Peter and Paul, and a star in the middle symbolizing the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"Wearing this ring, you are reminded each day to remember the witness which these two Apostles gave to Christ even unto martyrdom here in Rome, their blood making the Church fruitful. The example of the Virgin Mother will always be for you an invitation to follow her who was strong in faith and a humble servant of the Lord," he said in the homily.
For his titular church, Cardinal O’Brien was assigned San Sebastiano al Palatino (St. Sebastian on Palatine Hill), a church near the Coliseum in Rome.
Asked about the church, Cardinal O’Brien said he tried to visit it "the other day – but it was locked."
The church, whose foundations date back at least to the 10th century, stands amid the ruins of imperial Roman residences. It was built on the site of ancient Rome’s Temple of the Unconquered Sun and is believed to be the site of St. Sebastian’s martyrdom in the third century.
The pope took advantage of the consistory of cardinals to put them immediately to work. The pope and all the cardinals – old and new – had met for a full day prior to the ceremony to elevate the cardinals to discuss evangelization. One of their tasks that day was to vote on the canonization causes of seven "blesseds" whose causes for canonization had been deemed worthy for advancement.
Following the ceremony for the new cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, introduced the ordinary public consistory for the canonization of the following:
• Jacques Berthieu, French martyr and priest of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits);
• Pedro Calungsod, Filipino lay catechist and martyr;
• Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and of the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord;
• Maria del Carmen (nee Maria Salles y Barangueras), Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching;
• Maria Anna Cope (nee Barbara), German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse U.S.A.;
• Kateri Tekakwitha, American laywoman, known as the "Lily of the Mohawks" who will be the first Native American saint; and
• Anna Schaffer, German laywoman.
The canonization ceremony will take place Oct. 21 at the Vatican.
Mike Baldwin, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville who was one of 12 members of his family to make the trip to the consistory, said the event was awesome. Learning that a group of people were to be made saints means "I’ll probably be looking them up later to find out what was so special about them," he said.
They had seats in St. Peter’s, off to the side of the main altar, so they could not see the pope, but could see the new cardinals as they came away from receiving their new signs of office. "It was nice to be in there and see the wonderment. You can’t look in any direction without seeing something amazing," he said of the basilica.
Contributing to this story was Catholic News Service.