O'Malley Shrugs off Papal Aspirations at Roman Mass
By Marco Della Cava
ROME - Applause is not what you commonly hear at a solemn Catholic Mass. And yet there it was, clear as the blue sky overhead. The 100-odd parishioners packed inside Santa Maria della Vittoria, a gleaming jewel box of a Baroque edifice near this city's central train station, directed their clapping Sunday toward U.S. Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, who had come to say Mass at his titular church. Every cardinal has a titular church in Rome designated to him where he preaches when he's in town. The gesture was in response to an introduction by Father Rocco Visca, who in Italian had said, "May this be your last visit here as cardinal, and may we be the first church you visit as the next pope." Seated nearby, O'Malley, 68, allowed himself the briefest of smiles. In the run-up to Tuesday's conclave, a tradition-steeped ritual that determines who leads the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, the conservative Ohioan's name is among the so-called "papabili," among the strong contenders of 115 voting cardinals for the throne of St. Peter. The nearly 6,000 media members who have flocked to Rome staked out churches all over town, as some of the most talked-about cardinals took the opportunity to practice their vocation in anticipation of the coming vote. Among O'Malley's compelling attributes are his deep multilingual baritone, scholarly beard and, most significantly, his reputation for tackling some of the church's most vexing issues. O'Malley took over as archbishop of Boston from Bernard Law, who resigned under a cloud of pedophilia charges against the diocese. He also has embraced modern technology as a longtime blogger and podcaster. Moments after Visca's comment, it was O'Malley's turn to make a stir. To do so, he referenced the church's prized possession - a masterstroke of a statue by Bernini called The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, which has generated controversy for four centuries for its depiction of the saint in what seems like the throes of rapture. "Shortly after I was given this church (in 2006 by Pope Benedict), I said I was going to take this famous statue back to Boston with me, and I was told 'Napoleon already tried that,' " O'Malley said in accented Italian. "Well, clearly all is not forgiven here, because now you want me to leave as head of your church," he continued, to chuckles from the crowd. "But after the conclave, I'll be back here. And maybe I'll still try and take St. Teresa back to Boston." The one-hour Mass then unfolded with scripted familiarity. There was a reading from Luke about the trials of the prodigal son, highlighting the need to celebrate those who are lost to faith but then return. And a homily from O'Malley, spoken first in Italian and then in English, that asked for "the Holy Spirit to illuminate the church so we can choose a new pope who will confirm us in our faith." But this certainly wasn't Sunday business as usual at Santa Maria della Vittoria, a riot of marble, gold and frescoes that typically sees more tourists than worshipers. On Sunday, dozens of reporters and cameramen jammed the aisles, snapping and filming away as families took Communion. As Mass concluded, Visca couldn't resist a crack. "I've been coming here a long time, and I've never seen this many people. So, I'd like to invite you all to come back. Not you," he said, smiling and pointing at reporters. "But you, the faithful." He added that O'Malley would be leaving through a "secret exit, so please don't try and interview him." Visca then referenced Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, which ties Bernini's statue to the book and movie's gruesome scene of a priest being burned alive. "We know all about secrets," he said, smiling. Outside the church, Deacon Tim MacDonald of Boston, who is studying in Rome and helped O'Malley say Mass, was excited about the archbishop's papal buzz. "The people of Boston have a great admiration for him, and just having any American (as pope) would be amazing," he said. "But the conclave is always a mystery." Local parishioner Andrea Orsini said O'Malley, whom he has met many times over the years, would be a good choice because "he is open, honest and level-headed." He added that "as a member of the Capuchin order, which follows the teachings of St. Francis, he pays special attention to poverty, simplicity and a general love of the people, things which I think the church has strayed from a bit." Getting jostled by tour groups rushing in to see the Bernini statue was Tony Tiefenthaler of Sioux Falls, S.D., in Rome with his family to visit a son who is studying here. Tiefenthaler had mistaken Santa Maria della Vittoria for Santa Susanna, the American church in Rome that sits just across the street. Stumbling into a Mass with a man who some think has a shot at being the next pope was almost too much for him. "This is the third, well, sort of religious experience we've had in Rome," he said, explaining that the first happened after the family had been shut out of a tour of the Vatican's necropolis, an ancient burial ground located under St. Peter's Basilica. "My wife prayed on it, and a priest showed up out of nowhere, and let us in," he said, choking up. "And the other thing was a friend, whose father just died, knelt down in St. Peter's to pray, and when he looked up he was in front of St. Jerome's statue. His father's name was Jerry." At this point, Tiefenthaler started to sob softly. "And now this, mistakenly going into a church where Mass is being said by a cardinal," he said, wiping away a tear, then smiling. "I might as well just go home now, because it's not likely to get better than this."
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