Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Vatican Council II today...


There is only one last living cardinal who is a Homo Romae natus (a native of Rome). He's also one of the most delightful human beings you'll ever have the pleasure to meet.
Meet Fiorenzo Card. Angelini! He was born in Rome in 1916 and was ordained a priest in 1940. In 1956 he was consecrated a bishop in Rome (Mel Gibson considers him to be one of the very last true bishops).
Today he's one of the last living Council Fathers from VII. It's a delight to chat with him as he has a great sense of humor. His favorite English word is "good-bye" and so he often says it with a smile. He also likes to explain that he was born in Rome and is the last Roman cardinal.
One easy way to understand Vatican Council II is to read the chapter entitled "The Second Vatican Council" in the autobiography of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen entitled Treasure in Clay from 1980.
I was touched to see a prelate over ninety years old on the streets of Rome proudly looking his best. May he be an eloquent example to us that we, too, might wear our Sunday best and encourage our clergy to do the same.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A quotation from the excellent site 'The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church' regarding the consecration of Cardinal Angelini:

'Elected titular bishop of Messene and appointed Commendatory of Santo Spirito, June 27, 1956. Consecrated, July 29, 1956, church of S. Ignazio, Rome, by Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo, bishop of Albano, secretary of the Supreme S.C. of the Holy Office, prefect of the S.C. of Seminaries and Universities, assisted by Luigi Traglia, titular archbishop of Cesarea di Palestina, vice-gerent of Rome, and by Mario Ismaele Castellano, bishop of Volterra, assistant general of the Italian Catholic Action.'

The equally excellent site, Catholic-Hierarchy, concurs with this information.

So...

...not Papa Pacelli's hands then; unless he had lent them to someone else!

Anonymous said...

It is deceiving to make a connection between the cassock worn by old cardinals and superiors in the curia (at work) and their theological sensibiltiies. In Rome, the protocol is for cardinals to wear very conservative clerical garb, sometimes even the cassock. However, very few of these men can come close the new conservatives (not the same as neo-conservatives) who are virtually morally wear les ostentatious garb because they don't have the luxury of the piato dei cardinali (€€€) and are dependent, in order to live, on salary paid by the curia or other institution which effectively orders them not to dress-up.

John Paul Sonnen said...

Thanks for the futility. I stand corrected. Somebody told me he was consecrated by the Pope. I'll change it now.

Anonymous said...

Postconciliar style/upheaval of identity will pass with patience. Scripture says, '...and do not be hasty in time of calamity.' 2 Sirach

Anonymous said...

Does he do ICK or FSSP ordinations?