Cardinal Seán O'Malley is a Capuchin Franciscan
For all you Braves and Phillies fans out there, all Cardinals are not enemies. In some cases, they’re wonderful men who commit their lives to the service of the Church, responsible for overseeing the spiritual well being of millions of people. In this case, we’re talking about Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap, the Cardinal of Boston.
Cardinal O’Malley was in Wilmington yesterday presiding over the jubilee celebration for Sister Maria Elena Romero, P.C. Cap. Just like in marriage, men and women religious get together to celebrate big anniversaries of their profession of vows (usually 25 and 50), usually renewing them in the process. In this case, Sr. Maria Elena celebrated her 25th anniversary.
Though we got a picture with him, we really didn’t have a chance to speak with him privately. He seemed like a very nice guy, and the parts of his homily that were in English were very well spoken. (I’m not sure if he was being funnier while speaking Spanish or the Spanish speaking crowd was just easier to please, but something was working for him that I couldn’t understand!) All in all, we were very pleased to meet him and very gracious that he could come down from Boston for such a joyous occasion.
(Sorry about the picture! The blinds were actually closed behind us but I guess the sun was just that bright. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t all that warm, and being that it was an outside mass, it was quite chilly in the shade where the “choir” had to stand. I put choir in quotes because of the fact that I was in it, meaning it was not the sort of choir you would expect.)
Breaking In The Habit 
Casey,
I’m glad you had the opportunity to meet Cardinal Sean. It’s too bad you couldn’t meet him privately. I think he would have enjoyed visiting with you postulants who are the future of the Franciscans and of the Church.
Cardinal Sean is my archbishop, and he is a wonderful man, totally unpretentious. He didn’t want the position of archbishop. He refused it three times. He honestly thinks that Capuchin bishops should serve only in mission countries. The fourth time a Vatican official, probably the Apostolic Delegate, called and told him, “You are going.” Two or three other bishops also refused the position. It was after Cardinal Law resigned following the sexual abuse crisis. But the most difficult time for Cardinal Sean was during the closure of a large number of parishes shortly after his arrival in Boston. He told a reporter that every night he asked the Lord to call him home, and every morning he awoke to another day of restructuring. This job is a real cross for him. Please remember him in your prayers.
Emil
Casey,
Cardinal Sean also has a blog. Very different than yours, but I do check in on it from time to time. Here’s a link: http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/ You’ll have to copy & paste. By the way, what you saw as a flaw in the photo, reminded me of “The Light of Christ.” It’s all good–just depends on how you look at it.
You remain in my prayers. I am really enjoying your journey.
Mary Louise
Casey,
RE:My previous comment–
I guess you won’t have to copy & paste: The link didn’t appear that way until after I posted. Oh well, things like that just keep me humble (not one of my strong points).
Pax et bonem,
Mary Louise