Cardinals spend Sunday in their “spiritual homes”

This morning, the squares in front of some churches in Rome were more lively than usual. On the eve of the conclave, which will open on May 7, many cardinals honored the custom of coming to celebrate Mass in the parish assigned to them when they became cardinals. They are not the parish priests and have no authority over these Roman churches. But this symbolic link maintains the tradition whereby the parish priests of the large Roman parishes once elected the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter.

While some papabili avoided the photographers' flashes on Sunday morning, others were happy to speak to the press. This was the case for Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, who faced a forest of microphones and cameras in his church of Santa Maria ai Monti, a stone's throw from the Colosseum.

Cardinals Antonio dos Santos Marto, bishop emeritus of Leiria-Fatima, and Manuel do Nascimento Clemente, patriarch emeritus of Lisbon, decided to celebrate Mass together in the Portuguese parish in Rome, Sant'Antonio in Campo Marzio, the latter's titular parish. In a very family atmosphere, Cardinal Clemente even celebrated the baptism of a young boy.

Cardinal Albert Malcom Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, visited his titular parish of San Sebastiano in Lucina, in the heart of Rome's historic center, at midday.

Warmly welcomed by the faithful, the cardinal, who comes from a country marked by the Easter 2019 attacks, took time to talk with the children attending catechism classes before the start of Mass.

“In these days, we are reflecting on the qualities needed for the new pope in this difficult time in the history of the Church,” the 77-year-old cardinal said in his homily. “Churches are suffering everywhere, there are not many faithful left,” he said, highlighting the ‘many problems’ as well as the ‘questions and suffering’ that affect humanity more broadly.

“With him, we felt close to Jesus,” Cardinal Ranjith said, emphasizing how much the papal mission meant “not power, but service.”

Speaking with great emotion about the late pontiff, he highlighted the constant attention of this “great friend and apostle” of the people of God, recounting how he witnessed this affection during his visit to the island in 2015.

Expressing his hope that Pope Francis would be recognized as a saint, he asked parishioners to pray that the cardinals would find “someone worthy and capable of being, at least in some sense, close to this great pope we have lost.” Before adding a little dig: “It's true that a lot of things are said in the media, but that's not what's important.”

On the southern outskirts of Rome, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn celebrated Mass in his parish of the Divine Laborer Jesus. In his homily, he revealed that Cardinal Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, had asked the cardinals yesterday to celebrate Sunday Mass in their Roman parishes to symbolize the fundamental link between the city and the papacy.

“The parishes of Rome elect the bishop of Rome,” insisted the Austrian cardinal, who spoke of Peter's tomb and martyrdom as ”the glory of Rome.”

Confidently smiling that he had no chance of being elected pope because of his age — he celebrated his 80th birthday in January and will therefore not enter the conclave — the former archbishop of Vienna painted a portrait of the future pope.

“Journalists always ask me this question,” he said apologetically, with a touch of irony. “It would be nice if he spoke Italian better than me,” said the cardinal, adding that he did not necessarily have to be Italian, but could well be Asian or even African.

For the cardinal, the next pope could be someone who is ‘prudent,’ ‘friendly,’ or a good organizer. But these qualities are not essential.

In the splendid Basilica of St. Frances of Rome, close to the Colosseum, many Hungarian, American, and Italian journalists mingled with the faithful to listen to Cardinal Péter Erdö, Primate of Hungary, a leading figure in Central European Catholicism and sometimes considered the candidate of the conservatives. In a very concise and nuanced homily, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest commented in Italian on the Gospel of the day, in which Jesus says to Peter, “Be the shepherd of my sheep,” a particularly apt text during this period of conclave.

“Christ gave his Church the great mission of proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that he commanded,” continued the 72-year-old cardinal. Thus, “Jesus is the head of the Church” and inspires its entire hierarchical organization, beginning with the responsibility of the local bishops, he emphasized.

The Hungarian noted that Pope Francis had sought to link the concept of “synodality” with “collegiality” among bishops, in accordance with the guidelines of the Second Vatican Council.