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ALWAYS AND EVER OUR MOST BELOVED BENEDICTUS XVI
See preceding page for belated posts added on for 4/17 and 4/18/13...
Saturday, April 20, Third Week of Easter
ST. CONRAD OF PARZHAM (Germany, 1818-1894), Capuchin friar
Just as fitting as the fact that St. Benedict Joseph Labre's feast day falls on the day after Joseph Ratzinger's
birthday, is the fact that the major saint commemorated the day after his election as Pope should be the saint of
Altoetting, the Marian shrine that was of central importance in his his Bavarian childhood. Also for the fact that
St. Conrad is one of those saintly 'doormen' of convents who earn sainthood in their humble tasks. Conrad served
41 years as the porter for the Franciscan friary in Germany's preeminent Marian shrine. By tradition, convent porters
also solicited alms for the community and provided aid to those who came knocking for assistance. Such aid was not
limited to food and clothing. Porters also found themselves listening to people's problems and providing spiritual
counsel, a tradition followed exemplarily by Padre Pio and Andre Bessette, the Canadian brother who was canonized
in 2010. Conrad was beatified in 1930 and canonized four years later.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042013.cfm
AT THE VATICAN TODAY
Pope Francis met with
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (weekly meeting)
- Mons. Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family
Re-posting my favorite anecdote about the April 19, 2005 Conclave...
Above right, Cardinal Ratzinger leads the oath of secrecy at the 2005 Conclave, which was followed by individual oaths sworn on the bible by each of the participants.
As far as I have seen, this is the only photo we have of the future Pope in the Conclave.
This story is finally going the public rounds. It first surfaced in 2007, when Cardinal Biffi was asked by Pope Benedict XVI to preach the Lenten spiritual exercises for the Roman Curia, to reveal Cardinal Biffi's consternation that during the 2005 Conclave, he heard himself getting one vote in every balloting... I've always found this a very endearing story that says a lot about the mindset of the then about-to-become-Pope...
So do we now know
who Cardinal Ratzinger voted for
in the 2005 conclave?
by MICHELE SMARGIASSI
Translated from
April 19, 2012
If this lip-smacking indiscretion is reliable, it was the only time that Cardinal Giacomom Biffi, emeritus Archbishop of Bologna, failed to keep his word.
In fact, he never did smack his intended victim in the face, as he had threatened for rhetorical emphasis during the 2005 Conclave.
It was April 18, 2005, and after the third balloting, the cardinal heard himself for the third time credited with having received one vote. With his usual good humor, he turned to the cardinal next to him and said, "I've been getting this one vote. If I ever find out the obstinate person who is responsible for this, I'll smack him in the face".
His colleague retorted: "Eminence, clearly we are about to elect a Pope... And it seems obvious that this candidate chose to vote for you! So if you are to keep your word, you'd have to smack the Pope!"
A Catholic journalist, Francisco Grana, who has often had access to behind-the-scenes information, has written about this on the site orticalab.it, and concludes that whereas almost everyone was voting for him, Cardinal Ratzinger himself was voting for Cardinal Biffi.
Grana does not identify his source, although he was known to be a close friend of the late emeritus Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Michele Giordano, who was also a good friend of Cardinal Ratzinger.
But seven years since the incident, which sounds plausible at the very least, it is quite amusing, but it also serves to cast some light on the figure of Cardinal Biffi.
Biffi was not exactly a papabile in 2005. Although he was the theological and moral reference point for the conservative wing of the Church in Italy, the then Archbishop of Bologna never wanted to be a standard-bearer for anything.
Well-known for his independence and original preaching, he was never interested either in climbing the ecclesiastical ladder. And surely, Cardinal Ratzinger was his candidate. It is said that when the new Pope was delivering his first address to the Conclave cardinals, Biffi was seen nodding emphatically from his seat.
To those who had been asking him earlier if he was interested in becoming Pope, Biffi avoided the standard 'Domine non sum dignus...' (Lord, I am not worthy) demurral, for an ironic "No, life is better in Bologna".
It was known he had no appetite for the atmosphere in the Roman Curia, although he was called once to preach the Lenten spiritual retreat by John Paul II. Then called again for the same task by Benedict XVI himself in 2007.
Biffi was most original, as usual, in his approach, and in concluding the retreat, Benedict XVI said: "I would like to thank you for your realism, your humor, and your concreteness," going on to refer to "the rather daring theology of one of your housekeepers", cited by Biffi in one of the meditations.
"I would not dare refer her words 'The Lord perhaps had his defects' to the judgment of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," the Pope remarked.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 20/04/2013 16:37] |