Hello and welcome back!
Last week was the Oscars ceremony, which brought a lot of attention to the film Conclave. I was very interested to see that Aleteia and the Associated Press picked up some of my comments from the last blog post. I’d like to share the Aleteia article with you here:
Cardinal O’Malley shares his experience in a real conclave
By Cerith Gardiner
Although you might be surprised that a religious-themed film — dubbed a political thriller — has proved so successful, there’s no denying that from a cinematographic point of view, the movie is stunning. Furthermore, the acting is certainly Oscar-worthy, with acclaimed actor Ralph Fiennes putting on a sterling performance as a troubled dean of Cardinals.
While we’ve previously spoken about the movie’s numerous flaws, and moments where it does reflect what goes on when the Church’s prelates gather to make a momentous decision, it’s interesting to get some insight from Cardinal O’Malley, former Archbishop of Boston, who took part in the conclave that saw the now Pope Francis elected as pontiff.
A movie lacking in spiritual reality
The 80-year-old prelate took to his blog to share his thoughts of the movie when asked: “Was it really like that?” To which he explained:
“My answer is, no, it wasn’t really like that.
The author, of course, has a surprise ending that I will not give away here, but my experience of being in at least one conclave was not that it was some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected. It was an experience of a very intense retreat where there was much prayer and silence and listening to conferences on spiritual themes.
Throughout the process, we had a very acute awareness that millions of Catholics around the world were praying for us so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations. And, of course, at the moment when each cardinal votes, you take your ballot, stand in front of Michelangelo’s image of Christ in the Last Judgment and swear before God that you are going to vote for the person that you believe is God’s will for the Church.
It’s a much different experience than what they depicted in the movie. For all its artistic and entertainment value, I don’t think the movie is a good portrayal of the spiritual reality of what a conclave is.”
A final takeaway
It’s important to bear these thoughts in mind if you are considering watching the movie.
If there is something positive to take away from Conclave itself, it’s that people are curious to know what happens during such events that have shaped the Church since its very beginning. And this curiosity allows Catholics to not only educate themselves more, but to try and share their knowledge with others.
On February 3, I went to Regina Cleri to celebrate a wake service for Father John Mulloy, whom I used to call my classmate because he was ordained the same year I was. He was a man of such incredible talent and pastoral love for the priests and people of the archdiocese. I don’t think any of the priests have been as faithful in attending all the priests’ funerals as Father John Mulloy had been.
So, it was a privilege and an honor to preside at the wake service for him and to reflect on the wonderful pastoral service that he gave to the Church in so many different ways, not the least of which was being a wonderful pastor.
February 6-9, I went to Naples, Florida, to attend the annual summit of Legatus.
This organization for Catholic business leaders was founded by Tom Monahan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza and it has done so much to promote evangelization, social ministry, and the works of the Church.
During the summit, I celebrated two Masses for them.
Then, at the banquet, I was very honored to be presented with the Cardinal John O’Connor Defender of the Faith Award. Mother Olga Yaqob introduced me very kindly and generously. (In addition to introducing me, Mother Olga delivered a talk, as well.)
In my remarks, I talked about Tom Monahan and how he came to our rescue in the Virgin Islands after Hurricane Hugo. The terrible devastation resulted in the public schools being closed for two and half years, but I was able to open the Catholic schools in tents after a month, thanks to Tom’s help.
I told them the story of how we were six weeks without water, electricity or phones, so it was very difficult to get in touch with him. But someone gave me a satellite phone, and I was able to reach him. Tom sent his private plane full of generators to get the Catholic schools up and running.
It was the first plane to land on St. Croix following the hurricane, so I worked with the parishioners to pull all the debris off the runway to allow the plane to land. When the people saw the plane with the Domino’s logo, they said “Bishop Sean has sent for pizza!” And I said “Yes! And it is going to be free because it took them more than 30 minutes to deliver it!”
And that was just one example. After the earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua it was Tom Monahan who rebuilt the cathedral there. So we are very grateful to him for all the ways he has supported the Church.
I also spoke a little bit about Cardinal O’Connor, who was a very close friend of mine. We took many trips together to Central America during the time of the wars there and stayed in different refugee camps. He was just an extraordinary figure in the history of our Church, and I was honored to be given an award named for him.
On February 10, I attended the wake of Mary Kemp. Mary and her family have been great supporters and friends of the archdiocese, particularly the seminary, for many years.
I have been happy to be with her at home many times. So, I was pleased to be able to celebrate a wake service for her, at which her daughters and their families were all present.
From February 14-16, I went to New York to attend the annual New York Encounter sponsored by Communion and Liberation. Of course, every year, this is a very important event in the life of the Church that gathers young people, not only from New York and New England but from all over the country.
As always, the weekend consisted of a number of talks and events, including a discussion led by Apostolic Nuncio Christophe Pierre on Carlo Acutis in which Carlo Acutis’s mother participated in the dialogue about her son.
For my part, they asked me to give an introductory talk before , the major architect of the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral spoke about the renovations.
It was a very beautiful presentation and it was stunning to see the pictures and what they have been able to accomplish with the restoration. He’s definitely a man of faith and a man who saw this as a special mission in his life and professional career to be able to rebuild the cathedral.
Of course, I could not pass up the opportunity to mention the fact that the Capuchin Friars ran the fire department of Paris for over two centuries, and I said that if we were still in charge, the Notre Dame would not have burned down!
From there, I flew to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for a retreat for bishops hosted by the Neocatechumenal Way at the Casa de Convivencia Maria de la Altagracia, a wonderful retreat house that I had not been to for many, many years.
There were about 25 bishops with us from all over the United States and the Caribbean, including four cardinals: Cardinal Pierre, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Cardinal Wilton Gregory and myself. I also understand that the president of our bishops’ conference, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, came after I had to leave.
It was a wonderful week of fraternity and learning about the spirituality, history and ministries of the Neocatechumenal Way, including an excellent exhibition about the seminaries. I think all the bishops had a very enriching experience. Certainly, the weather and hospitality could not have been better.
As I alluded to earlier, unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the whole retreat because we received the sad news that my Aunt Patricia had passed away at the age of 99, and I went to Florida for her funeral on February 22.
My Aunt Pat was just an amazing woman. She was widowed at a very young age and raised nine children on her own. She also taught for many years at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami. She had a long and beautiful life and was a great woman of faith and prayer who raised her family in a beautiful way. So, it was a privilege to be able to celebrate the Mass for her and to gather with some of my cousins.
On February 26, I went to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut to participate in their Bergoglio Lecture Series on Pope Francis.
In my address, I talked about the Holy Father’s Jesuit identity and the influences of St. Francis in his life and ministry.
It was a beautiful day, and I was amazed at how many students came to hear the lecture. I think if I were a student, I would’ve played hooky because it was so nice outside! But there were hundreds of kids; it was standing-room-only.
And they were very engaged; they had lots of questions. It was very encouraging to see the interest and involvement of these young people in the life of the Church.
Of course, this event was long planned, but it took on a special significance as international media was focused on the Gemelli Hospital, waiting for reports of the Holy Father’s health.
The news continues to be guarded, but we pray that the Lord will give him renewed strength and restore his health. Certainly, the whole world is praying for him. We entrust him to God’s holy providence and pray for his recovery.
Until next time,
Cardinal Seán