April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
ON SABBATICAL
Priest reports from Rome
Rev. James Walsh of the Diocese's Vocations Team told The Evangelist he's a bit overwhelmed, but has done many interviews on his experiences because he believes it helps the Church - and, like most Catholics, he's been excited to watch the election process.
He's also been touched by "the unbelievable amount of press coverage. [Media outlets] rent buildings right around St. Peter's Square; on all the roofs are the cameras and the tents.
"Sometimes we wonder if the Church is relevant today," he added, but that made it "pretty clear that the Church is relevant in the world."
Father Walsh and the other 40 or so priests in his sabbatical program usually divide their time between classes, reading, rest and exploring Rome. But on March 12, they went to a Mass with the cardinals who were about to enter into conclave to elect a pope.
"We were very interested in seeing them sign that oath" of secrecy about conclave proceedings, Father Walsh recalled.
"The first night, they were only in conclave for an hour, so we knew there was going to be black smoke....The next afternoon, it was miserable and rainy, so nobody was really expecting much, but we said, 'Let's go down, take in the whole experience of St. Peter's Square' - and the smoke was late. Then the anticipation began."
There were a half-dozen names of "papabile" that had become familiar to the priests on sabbatical, plus long-shots for the papacy like Cardinals Timothy Dolan of New York, Sean O'Malley of Boston and Marc Ouellet of Canada.
Although the square was mobbed with 150,000 cheering people, when Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran announced the new pope's name in Latin, one priest in Father Walsh's group was able to hear and translate the unexpected choice: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who would become Pope Francis.
Then "they brought the new pope out and introduced him. [There was such] energy and excitement; the people next to you didn't necessarily speak your language.
"There are a fair amount of people that come here who are not necessarily hard-core Catholics. I heard one man say, 'I'm not much of a religious guy, but I'm curious about what's going on here.' One of the things the Catholic Church does really well is ritual: black smoke, white smoke. Something about ritual speaks to people and piques [their] interest."
When Cardinal Bergoglio came out on the balcony and asked the massive crowd to quiet down and say a prayer for him, Father Walsh was amazed at the way 150,000 people obeyed: "It was pretty striking."
Later, musing on the choice of Cardinal Bergoglio, Father Walsh stated: "As Catholics, we always look at [the choice of a pope] through the lens of faith: At this time in history, this is who God needs to lead this Church. This is the man that God needs."
Already, stories about the new pope's humility are impressing and affecting people around the world, and Rome is no exception. Father Walsh said the head of his sabbatical program bumped into Pope Francis the day after the election - "just walking down the stairs, no secretaries or anything with him." The priest had only met the future pope once, 10 years ago, but Francis remembered his name.
Another priest in Father Walsh's program was asked to give an interview with his hometown's CBS television affiliate. The reporter offered to send a car to pick up the priest, who responded, "In the spirit of the new pope, I'm going to walk."
Sharing in that spirit and serving the poor, said Father Walsh, will likely be the most immediate effect of the leadership of Pope Francis.
The priest will remain in Rome until early May, including spending Holy Week at St. Peter's. When he spoke to The Evangelist, he was planning to attend Pope Francis' installation Mass March 19 and had offered to distribute communion.[[In-content Ad]]
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