For the Dutch in Rome, a bishop of their own

Bishop Hurkmans gives the homily at the Church of the Frisians on 30 October.

A journey begun in May of this year saw its conclusion today, with the official installation of Bishop Antoon Hurkmans as rector of the church of Saints Michael and Magnus, better known as the Church of the Frisians, the Dutch national church in Rome.

 

Following his early retirement from the Diocese of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bishop Hurkmans had initially expected to retire to his native village of Someren, where he would see how he could assist in the local parish. But then came word from Rome, where Fr. Tiemen Brouwer OP expressed his wish to decrease his workload. The rector of the Church of the Frisians wanted to retire after nine years running the parish centered on the outskirts of St. Peter’s Square. Enter the bishops, who were to select a successor. In Bishop Hurkmans’ own words:

“I unexpectedly learned that the bishops were looking for a new rector for the Church of the Frisians in Rome. The news struck a cord with me immediately. Is this my future? Without reservations, without asking too many questions, without wanting all kinds of things, I offered myself for this duty. The bishops then decided to suggest me as a candidate. This meant that I was faced with perhaps the greatest change in my life. To Rome! A different culture, a different language and back to basic pastoral care. Confident and with joy, as I can write now, I take on this challenge. It gives me the chance to really let go of the diocese and give my successor, Msgr. de Korte, all necessary room. And Rome was familiar enough for me that I had soon found an appartment and a community at Santa Maria dell’Anima, where I feel at home. The language is still a challenge, a project of years. And, let me say, a healthy mission.”

While the Dutch bishops can suggest a parish priest for the Church of the Frisians, the actual appointment is made by the Vicariate of Rome, one of the two major subdivisions of the Diocese of Rome.

Ever since the beginning of his priesthood, the bishop emeritus of ‘s-Hertogenbosch had always had the wish to go abroad, but that never happened. After his first posting as a parish priest, he became rector of the diocesan seminary, vicar general and then bishop.

Bishop Hurkmans was installed by the president of the Dutch Bishops’ Conference, Rotterdam’s Bishop Hans van den Hende. The installation Mass, which was the Mass for the feast of Saint Willibrord, patron of the Dutch Church province, was streamed live on Dutch television and may be watched here. Bishop Hurkmans expressed his feelings at his new tasks by saying, “It is a privilege to be this close to Peter.”

As for the future, while there are new duties, there is still a sense of retirement for Bishop Hurkmans. A much-desired return to simple pastoral care, as he himself expressed.

“I will be in the church every morning, where everyone is welcome to enter, to say hello, to speak in their mother tongue for a while, to share some of their life history, I will be there to listen.”

And,

“I shouldn’t be working or doing too much there, but by simply being there I can make a big difference.”

Fr. Brouwer, then, remains in Rome as a confessor attached to the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls.

Advertisement

Sent out into the world for mercy

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent (yes, it’s almost Lent already), and in this Holy Year of Mercy it is also the day of another notable event: the day on which more than one thousand special “missionaries of mercy” are sent out by the Pope into the world, to manifest God’s mercy in a specific way, by their ability to forgive the most grave of sins, which are usually beholden to bishops or the Pope alone.

Earlier, we already learned that all priests in the world have been given to authority to forgive the sin of abortion (normally residing with the bishop, all Dutch priests have had this faculty already). Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who is the chief organiser of the events of the Holy Year, outlines the five sins which can only be forgiven by the special missionaries of mercy. These are:

• Desecration of the Eucharist
• Breaking the seal of confession
• Consecrating a bishop without papal approval
• Sexual contacts by a priest and the person he has those contacts with
• Violent actions against the Pope

Of course, some of these are more likely to happen than others, but they all touch upon the core values of our faith and Church: the sanctity of sacraments, the unity of the Church and the seriousness of vows and promises. By making the forgiveness for such sins more easily available, Pope Francis wants to emphasise that, even in such serious matters, mercy comes first (with the caveat that true mercy always incorporates justice).

13 priests from the Netherlands and 33 from Belgium (11 from Flanders, 22 from Wallonia) will be appointed as missionaries of mercy. One of the Dutch priests is Fr. Johannes van Voorst, of the Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam (one of seven from that diocese; the other six come from the Diocese of Roermond). Fr. Johannes (seen above offering Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls today) will be going to Rome to receive his mandate, together with some 700 of his brother priests (the remaining 350 or so will receive their mandate at home). His adventures in Rome can be followed via his Facebook page, where he also posts in English.

After receiving their mission, the names of the missionaries will be made known, so that they can be at the disposal of the faithful in the country.

Four bishops look back – the ad limina in hindsight

Four bishops have written their thoughts and feelings about last week’s ad limina visit down and shared the resulting texts on the websites of their respective dioceses. Here, in full, are my translations, reflecting the encouragement that the bishops took home from their encounter with Pope Francis and the offices of the Curia.

Bishop Gerard de Korte, bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden:

“What did the ad limina visit bring me as bishop of the North? I think in the first place encouragement. Our report included many statistics which cause concern. The Church, after all, continues to shrink. But the Pope and also his coworkers in the various Congregations and Pontifical Council continuously warned the bishops against a sterile pessimism. The message was always: be patient, make contact, try to connect, don’t write anyone off, don’t blow up any bridges. Every bishop should after all be a ‘pontifex’, a bridge builder. I saw these words as a confirmation of my policy. In a recent article on the future of Roman Catholicism I summarised that policy in two words: clear and cordial. The Church of tomorrow can only thrive when she stays close to Jesus. God’s unconditional love and forgiveness in Jesus for every person and our entire world should be at the heart. God’s mercy should also make us merciful and mild in how we deal with one another.

At the same time that should happen in a heartfelt and inviting way. Not with a pointing finger or a frown, but with an open attitude and a smile. There are many stalls in the modern religious market. For religious searchers the choice for Christ and His Church is not always the obvious one. For many of our contemporaries, faith is a search, a process. Parishes and church communities are called to increasingly initiate people in the treasure of Christian tradition and bring them to Christ, step by step. For ultimately every person is called to live his or her life out of the friendship with the living Christ.

Encouraged by the ad limina visit I continue my work as bishop. In turn, I hope to be able to encourage Catholics and other Christians to live the life of their Baptism. Pope Francis continuously asks us to be brave and to live out of hope. Let us grab the plough, out of the joy of the Gospel!”

Wim Cardinal Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht:

“The preparations for the ad limina visit of the Dutch bishops were preceded by numerous speculations. What would the new Pope Francis think of the Dutch bishops? Wouldn’t they be strongly chastised for their policies? In that context, many think of the mergers of parishes and the closing of churches, which the bishops would be deciding upon out of ideological motives and because of a shortage of priests. What was striking was that the approach of sexual abuse by Church workers was now getting less attention.

In my article for the November issue of the diocesan magazine Op Tocht, which was also spread to the parishes as a letter, I discussed in detail the painful necessity of parish mergers and church closings in several locations. The archdiocese does not take the initiative to close a church. That is in the first place the responsibility of the parish councils, which then request the archbishop to remove a church from service. But in the end neither the archbishop nor the parish council make the decision, but the people who decide to no longer take part in worship and no longer support the Church financially.

In the 1950s ninety percent of the Catholics attended Church on Sunday. Today that is five percent and that percentage is still dropping. Anyone can see that church closings then become unavoidable. The same goes for parish mergers. Parishes which can no longer survive alone, can join forces with other parishes and form a new thriving faith community. We must now take our responsibility for the future. Our children who still believe must have the opportunity to celebrate and share the faith. It would be irresponsible to try and maintain everything we have now and use up all available means doing so, leaving future generations empty-handed.

The Pope understands this, and so does the Roman Curia. In other parts of the world, for example in the United States, the need for parish mergers and church closings becomes apparent. Between 2000 and 2011, 121 churches in the Diocese of Essen, Germany, were removed from use and closed.

Many other topics were also discussed. The Pope and his coworkers received, for example, detailed information from the Dutch bishops about the situation around the sexual abuse of minors. In the last months, fruitful cooperation has come into being between the chairmen of the Bishops’ Conference, the KNR (Conference of Dutch religious) and KLOKK, the major umbrella organisation for victims of sexual abuse. They jointly established a final date of 1 July 2014 for the reporting of claims of sexual abuse concerning deceased perpetrator and cases of sexual abuse that fall under the statute of limitations. Said chairmen also presented a joint report to Secretary Opstelten on 5 November of this year, the so-called base-measurement, in which the implementations of the recommendations of the Deetman Commission of 2011 were investigated. The report includes a number of solid pieces of advice to improve the approach to claims of sexual abuse. The Bishops’ Conference, the KNR, KLOKK, and the management and overview foundation for sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands have enthusiastically begun implementing this advice. The base-measurement was translated into English and sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Dutch bishops and the KNR coupled the announcement of the final date with a call to all to supply supportive evidence for claims of sexual abuse where possible. We also called all to – contrary what sadly sometimes occurs elsewhere – not oppose victims in any way when they make a claim, or blame them for it, but support hem as much as possible. They suffered enough under the sexual abuse. We called all to help the Church clean her slate in the interest of the victims. The Pope encouraged us to continue on this road. At the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith we were also told that we chose a “good direction”.

The way in which Pope Francis replied to the Dutch bishops’ policies was heartwarming for them. He was visibly moved by the difficulties we face. His biggest fear was that we would become discouraged because of the problems we are struggling with, and that we would succumb to feelings of sorrow. He impressed upon us not lose hope, hope in the promises of Christ: “This hope never disappoints.” The message which he repeatedly drew our attention too was, “Do not look back, try not to keep what you once had, but look ahead.” A word that he continuously repeated was, “avanti, avanti, sempre avanti.” Keep going forward than do not look back at the past. In the past the Church may have had great buildings and structures, but we live in the present. In the present, you must take your responsibility.

As Dutch bishops we feel very much confirmed and encouraged by the Pope and his coworkers to go “avanti”, that is to say, forward on the path we are on. What we take with us from this very successful ad limina visit is that we should not Always look back nostalgically to a rich past, but that we must go “avanti”, forward, with our task to proclaim Christ and His Gospel. We must now take our responsibility and take the necessary measures, even if they are not always popular, to make sure that there are enough means and opportunities to also in the future proclaim the faith in Dutch society. If we don’t do anything now and maintain everything, we take away from our children the means to share the Gospel and celebrate the faith.

For the bishops it was also a special experience to be together for an entire week in Rome. In addition to unity with the world Church, the ad limina visit has also strengthened our mutual unity. Many concrete questions from the bishops have been answered by workers in the Roman Curia. We will get to work with the advice we received, in courage and enthusiasm.

The ad limina visit was closed with a celebration of the Eucharist at St. Mary Major. Here, at the end of the celebration, we answered Pope Francis’ call to us in the address he gave us in writing at Monday’s audience, to dedicate our Church province to Mary. This we did, and we confirmed it by praying the Hail Mary together. We asked Mary to pray for us to God to make our beautiful ad limina visit fruitful for the proclamation of the Catholic faith in the Netherlands.”

Bishop Theodorus Hoogenboom, auxiliary bishop of Utrecht:

“What is the homework that Pope Francis gave the Dutch bishops during the ad limina visit?” I was asked in the preliminary conversation before a radio interview… My answer was that an ad limina visit, since its establishment in the 16th century, is first and foremost a pilgrimage of the bishops to the graves of the Apostles Peter and Paul. And that is how I look back on it as well: the ad limina visit was a precious week in which we, the Dutch bishops, prayed in the four great basilicas (St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls), in the Church of the Frisians and in the Santa Maria dell’Anima (where Pope Adrian VI, from Utrecht, lies buried). The fact that, on 2 December, we could first celebrate Holy Mass at the tomb of Saint Peter in the catacombs and shortly afterwards meet the personal successor of this Apostle on the see of Peter, Pope Francis, was for me without doubt the high point of our ad limina visit.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus calls the Apostle Peter to strengthen his brothers, the other Apostles, in their faith. And that is exactly what Pope Francis did towards us as Dutch bishops. Aware of the situation in which the Dutch Roman Catholic Church finds herself, the Pope directed words of hope and encouragement to the bishops and all Roman Catholics in our country. In the ‘group talk’ with the Pope I could ask him, referring to Jesus who washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper (John 13), how he sees the relation between liturgy, especially the Eucharist, and diakonia. Pope Francis’ answer was that the worship of God and the service to the neighbour, especially the neighbour in need, are inextricably entwined. He also mentioned practical examples from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires where he was archbishop. We can mirror the practical examples from our archdiocese to that; for example the food collection for the Food bank during the Chrism Mass in Apeldoorn.

That we could start the ad limina visit with a fraternal meeting with Pope Francis, despite original plans,  is to me a gift from God’s providence. During our visits to the Congregations and Pontifical Councils we reported on the developments in the Dutch Church province since the last ad limina visit in 2004. But on those occasions we also looked ahead, and time and again we heard words which referred to the joy of the Gospel, to Christian joy and the trust in God about which Pope Francis had earlier spoken with us so warmly and inspirational. A joyful message which I continue to carry with me in my life and works as auxiliary bishop of Utrecht. It was not about getting homework assigned and which you reluctantly start, but about confirmation and encouragement in performing a joyful duty for life.”

Bishop Herman Woorts, auxiliary bishop of Utrecht:

We continue encouraged, with hope and joy, amid the concerns and responsibilities. The Pope and the Curia, people with their inspiration, it has all come much nearer for me. I am grateful for having experienced this and also grateful that we are part of that one world Church, led by the Pope, above all of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by Mary, Peter and Paul and all those other saints and blesseds. It has strengthened me, not least the daily Masses and prayer and sympathy of many at home. That does good.

What will also stay with me: when we left the room after the conversation with the Pope, I spoke with him about the contact with rabbis and Jewish organisations. He squeezed my arm and indicated: continue with that. He was happy about it.”

Ad limina Wednesday: general audience, Interreligious Dialogue and St. Paul

On Wednesday, the traditional day of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, all bishops continued with meetings. All, except for Bishop Antoon Hurkmans (pictured at right, seated at centre and discoursing with an unidentified bishop), who attended the audience and once again met the Pope, this time to give him an icon on behalf of the Dutch faithful. The meeting may be briefly seen here, at the 55:30 mark, the very end of the general audience. Afterwards, Pope Francis blessed and venerated the icon of the Year of Faith, that Bishop Hurkmans had also brought and which he will bring with him back home. It will subsequently go on a  tour to various parishes.

The other bishops, in the mean time, were received at the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care to Health Care Workers, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Bishop Jan Hendriks, part of the group visiting the latter two dicasteries, shares some words about the relations with Muslims, that Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran shared during the meeting at the Interreligious Dialogue office:

“…we need a strong Christian identity, which is open at the same. The three great starting points of the dialogue are:

1. You must confess your faith clearly, without hiding anything: Jesus is the Son of God.
2. Accept the other as being different.
3. Accept that God is at work in every person.

Christians often have too little conviction, and that is problematic for the dialogue; Because of it Muslims often experience society as Godless and resist it. Conversation is often difficult: a meeting is often good and cordial, and afterwards they retreat anyway.”

^Bishops Mutsaerts, van den Hende, Hendriks, van Burgsteden, Cardinal Tauran, Bishops de Korte and Woorts

Bishop Gerard de Korte of Groningen-Leeuwarden also attended that meeting, and in his daily “diary entry” he writes:

“The Roman Catholic considers positively the true, good and beautiful which is found outside the Christian community. She considers, after all, truth, goodness and beauty to be the work of God’s Spirit. Hence the willingness to enter into dialogue with other religions. Which, by the way, does not lead to relativism. Because in addition to every respect for non-Christian religiousness, the Church continues to proclaim Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Mass on Wednesday was offered at the grave of Saint Paul, in the Basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls. Bishop Jos Punt of Haarlem-Amsterdam was the main celebrant and also gave the homily. All homilies during the ad limina are available at this page of the Church province’s website, but since Bishop Punt usually speaks from memory (as shown in the photo below), his text is not yet available. It is said he spoke about the topic of mission.

Photo credit: [1] RKK – Christian van der Heijden, [2] Bishop Jan Hendriks, [3] Ramon Mangold

The vacant Curia – duties during the sede vacante

Now that we have gotten somewhat used to yesterday’s news, and all speculation has, well, not died down, but channeled into a few set directions, here’s a look at the major players in the coming sede vacante period.

• The Apostolic Penitentiary, concerned with questions of conscience from the faithful and the pressing matters related to it, will continue to function during the sede vacante. Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, who leads the office, will remain in office likewise.
• Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (pictured) will remain on as Camerlengo. He will head the management of the goods and finances of the Holy See. He will also chair the daily meetings of the College of Cardinals for the daily affairs of the Church. Upon the election of the new pope, he will accompany him to the papal apartments and hand him the keys. Cardinal Bertone will also declare the result of every ballot during the conclave. Upon his invitation, the cardinals will meet for discussion and reflection when needed. The vice-chamberlain, Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, will work with him outside the conclave.
• The cleric prelates of the Apostolic Chamber will assist the Camerlengo. They are Msgr. Assunto Scotti, Msgr. Luigi Cerchiaro, Msgr. Paolo Luca Braida (Italians all), Msgr. Philip James Whitmore (British), Msgr. Winfried König (German), Msgr. Osvaldo Neves de Almeida (Argentinian) and Msgr. Krzysztof Józef Nykiel (Polish).
• During the sede vacante, the archpriests of the papal basilicas will take over the Pope’s liturgical duties. They are Cardinal Agostino Vallini (pictured) for St. John Lateran, Cardinal Angelo Comastri for St. Peter’s, Cardinal James Harvey for St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls and Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló for St. Mary Major.
• Also involved in the papal liturgies during the sede vacante are the Master of Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini, and the Almoner of His Holiness, Archbishop Guido Pozzo.
• The pastoral care of the Diocese of Rome will be the responsibility of the Vicars-General: Cardinal Agostino Vallini. for Rome and Cardinal Angelo Comastri for the Vatican City State.
• After the cardinals have entered the Sistine Chapel for the conclave, and after they have all taken the oath, Msgr. Guido Marini will call “Extra omnes!”. He will distribute the ballot papers to the cardinals and then leave the chapel..
• Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, in place of the Cardinal-Dean (Cardinal Sodano is 85 and therefore too old to take part in the conclave), will announce the start of the first ballot after any remaining questions have been answered. Cardinal Re will also ask the newly elected Pope if he accepts his election. If Cardinal Re himself is elected, that task falls to Cardinal Bertone.
• Cardinal James Harvey (pictured), as the junior Cardinal-Deacon, will lock the doors of the Sistine Chapel before the first ballot. He will be responsible for who enters and leaves during the voting: assistants to those cardinals who may be too ill to be in the Sistine Chapel can leave and return to collect those cardinals’ ballots.
• Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, as the College of Cardinals’ Protodeacon (the most senior Cardinal-Deacon) will have the honour to announce the “habemus papam” to the masses on St. Peter’s Square.

The Curia of the Church will in many ways cease to function once the Pope has abdicated. Only some pressing matters may be handled by the College of Cardinals, but she is not allowed to do anything that is normally under a Pope’s  authority.

‘Bel Giorgio’ takes over the household

In a move that was expected since last month’s consistory, Pope Benedict XVI appointed his private secretary, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, as prefect of the Papal Household. He succeeds Cardinal James Harvey, who was assigned to become the archpriest of the basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls with his creation as cardinal.

Undoubtedly one of the most visible and definitely the most popular curial prelates, ‘Gorgeous George’ will simultaneously be elevated to the dignity of archbishop.

Archbishop-elect Gänswein has been the closest daily collaborator of the Holy Father since before the latter’s election as pope. As prefect he will be responsible for all audiences of the pope, as well as all travels within Italy and all major events that the pope participates in. There is no indication that he will cease to be the pope’s personal secretary, though, so for the time being at least, Archbishop Gänswein will be pulling double-duty.

The new archbishop, who will be given the titular see of Urbs Salvia, is noted for his careful performance of his duty, a testament to German pünktlichkeit  and thoroughness perhaps. It has, in any case, now led to his even greater influence in the closest circles around the pope, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Pope Benedict does not seem to be the kind of man who needs dozens of people around him at any time, instead preferring the simple company of a few trusted collaborators.

A date for Gänswein’s consecration has not been announced, but it is a safe bet that it will take place on the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January, when the pope generally consecrates a number of bishops himself.

Photo credit: Alessandra Tarantino, PA

A second Red Dawn rises

While fog hides the view from my window, a red dawn rises over Rome as Pope Benedict XVI gets ready to create six new members of the College of Cardinals. Who are these princes of the Churches again, in the smallest crop since the 1977 consistory which, among others, saw one Joseph Ratzinger made a cardinal?

Archbishop James Michael Harvey was, until yesterday, the Prefect of the Papal Household. As was announced earlier, he was moved yesterday to become Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls. In many eyes, this is a classic promotion out of the limelight for Cardinal-designate Harvey’s role in the Vatileaks case. Under his watch, papal documents were stolen and published, with the archbishop defending the convicted papal butler Paolo Gabriele before his actions became clear. While he was never even implicated, it is said that Archbishop Harvey submitted his resignation to the pope after Gabriele’s arrest. While prefects of the Household are usually eventually made cardinals, this happens when they were past retirement age. Cardinal-designate Harvey is 63.

As archpriest of a papal basilica, he has certain custodial and liturgical functions (which are worthy in their own right), but very few, if any, well-defined duties in the Roman Curia.

Cardinal Harvey will be a Cardinal-Deacon.

Patriarch Béchara Pierre Raï is the head of the Maronite Catholic Church of the Middle East, especially Lebanon. His three predecessor were also cardinals, so his creation is not a surprise.  And perhaps the pope’s recent visit to Lebanon also played a role in cementing his nomination. Patriarch Raï is 72 and will be made a Cardinal-Bishop by virtue of his position at the head of a Catholic Church in union with Rome. He will not be given a title church, as he is outside the hierarchy of the Latin Church, but not outside the world Church.

Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal also heads a separate Church in union with Rome, the Syro-Malankar Church of India. He will be the youngest cardinal of all, and will be the first archbishop of Trivandrum to be made a cardinal. During the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelisation his bearded presence was already much noticed. Cardinal Thottunkal will be a Cardinal-Priest.

Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan is the much-respected archbishop of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Most recently, he unequivocally spoke against the terrorist actions of Boko Haram in the north of Nigeria, while at the same time seeking relations with Muslims in Nigeria. He is also strongly against a proposed division of the country into a Christian south and a Muslim north. Nigeria’s old capital, Lagos, is also headed by a cardinal, but the value of the western country in the Church is surely reflected by this appointment if a second one, who will be a Cardinal-Priest.

Archbishop Jesús Rubén Salazar Gómez is the archbishop of Bogotá, capital of Colombia, a nation which, considering its Catholic population, was long overdue for the appointment of a second cardinal. Clearly pro-life, Cardinal-designate Salazar Gómez will also be a Cardinal-Priest.

Archbishop Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, is the rising star of the Church in Asia. Heading the major Archdiocese of Manila in the Philippines, Cardinal-designate Tagle will be the second-youngest cardinal of the bunch. He has his critics, but in general he is enormously popular, not least because of his use of social media. Affectionately referred to as “Archbishop Chito”, Cardinal-designate Tagle is a very welcome addition to the Asian part of the College. He, too, will be a Cardinal-Priest.

With the elevation of this international group, the first since 1924 to include no Europeans, the group of cardinals who are eligible to vote in a conclave reaches 120.

As for today’s ceremony, which will be conducted according to the exact same norms as this year’s previous one, it can be viewed via the Vatican Player, while the booklet for the celebration may be found here. Things are set to get rolling at 11am local time, which is 10am GMT.

An exact handful for new cardinal titles

With the six-cardinal consistory of 24 November approaching, it is once again a good time to take a look at the available title churches or deaconries that the new cardinals will be receiving.

As of today, there are ten titles available, and only five cardinals awaiting one. Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï will not be receiving a title Church in Rome since he is not part of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, his own Maronite patriarchate of Antioch will also be his title. In a way, this reflects the fact that, in his Maronite Catholic Church, he holds a position similar to the pope in the Roman Catholic Church. He is the first bishop among equals, but the pope has further duties, rights and position that makes it possibly for the patriarch to be made a cardinal of the Church by the pope.

Cardinal-designate Raï position as patriarch will, however, mean that he will be a cardinal with the rank of Cardinal-Bishop. Upon his creation, there will be ten of these.

This leaves five cardinals who will be given a  title church. One of these, being a curial prelate,will be made a cardinal-deacon. He is Archbishop James Harvey, currently the prefect of the Papal Household, but after his creation he will become archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul-Ouside-the-Walls. There are five vacant cardinal deaconries, which could be given to him. The one with the longest pedigree is the ancient Santa Maria in Cosmedin (pictured at right), vacant since 1967. Also possible are two deaconries which only recently became vacant: Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino, last held by Cardinal Baldelli until his death in September; and San Pio V a Villa Carpegna, vacant since the passing of Cardinal Sánchez in March.

The four future cardinal-priest have a choice between ten vacant title churches. Among them are the late Cardinal Martini’s Santa Cecilia and Cardinal Shan Kuo-Hsi’s San Crisogono, which has been held by cardinals from South-America, Africa and Asia in succession, so it may well be given again this time around, to either Archbishops Onaiyekan, Salazar Gómez or Tagle.

Any guesses, with such as mall group of new cardinals, including the first Syro-Malankar cardinal, are just guesses. Of course, a new Roman church may be elevated to a cardinal title as well. There are a fair number of title churches which have relatively recently been made so, with only previous cardinal-protector. Guesswork. We’ll all find out on the 24th…

Photo credit: Lamré, Wikipedia

The little consistory

The consistory that Pope Benedict XVI announced at today’s general audience, and set for the 24th of November, has all the appearances of an in-between consistory. With only six cardinals to be created it is quite small, and it is as non-European as the previous consistory was European.

It’ll be Benedict’s fifth consistory, and by far his smallest. In fact, it will be the smallest consistory since Pope Paul VI elevated 4 cardinals in 1977. It will also be the first time since 1929 that there have been 2 consistories in one calendar year.

The six prelates to be elevated are:

Archbishop James Michael Harvey (63), the Prefect of the Papal Household, who will be appointed as archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls..

Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï (72), Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronite Church.

Archbishop Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal (53), Major Archbishop of  Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankarese Church. Pictured at right.

Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan (68), Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria.

Archbishop Jesús Rubén Salazar Gómez (70), Archbishop of Bogotá, Colombia.

Archbishop Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle (55), Archbishop Of Manila, Philippines.

Archbishop Tagle and Patriarch Raï were among the expected choices for the red hat at a future consistory, but the others were not. Only Archbishop Thottunkal is from a see which until now was not traditionally associated wih the title of a cardinal.

Archbishops Thottunkal and Tagle will be the youngest members of the College.

Another indicator that this is something of an in-between consistory, intended to keep the number of electors at or near 120, is that there are metropolitan archbishops of traditionally cardinalatial sees – such as Léonard of Brussels, Nichols of Westminster, Chaput of Philadelphia and Gómez of Los Angeles – still awaiting the red hat. At least some of them will be made cardinals in the future, but, apparently, now is not yet the time.

Barring any deaths, next month’s conclave will bring to size of the College of Cardinals to 211, with a round 120 of them being electors (Cardinals Arinze and Martino will turn 80 beforehand), including all six new ones.