Abp. Foley was in St. Peter's square - incognito- during today's announcement!

Well, not intentionally incognito, but without his "glad rags on", as he put it to CNS:

U.S. Cardinal-designate John P. Foley, a Philadelphia native, was standing in the middle of St. Peter's Square among a sea of 30,000 pilgrims when Pope Benedict XVI named him a cardinal.

Though he knew the previous day he was going to be one of 23 people to receive a red hat, the Oct. 17 announcement was going to fall on the same morning he had a follow-up visit with his eye doctor.

"I didn't get back in time to be there at the beginning of the audience and I didn't have my glad rags on," meaning his formal clerical dress, so he said he just snuck inconspicuously into the middle of the crowd.

....

He said a pilgrim standing next to him asked him if he knew any of the men the pope had just named to be cardinal. "

I said 'Yes, I know quite a few of them.' And I said 'I am one of them,' Well, I don't think he believed me," he said laughing.

"What would I be doing standing out in the middle of St. Peter's Square, you know. But I thought it would be nice to hear the announcement anyway," he said happily.

Ah, to have been there!

I like the joyful, off-the-cuff style of the Abp.'s remarks. It's entirely appropriate to what is - politics aside - a very joyful occasion for the Church and for the men nominated. No wonder he was in charge of communication.

Your PPOTD! Wednesday, October 17th

Archbishop DiNardo's reaction to being named a future cardinal: "Wayva-heyv?!"

(Click here for full coverage of the new cardinals Pope Benedict named today.)

[photo: AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Melissa Phillip]

Pope Benedict names 23 cardinals - complete coverage

Sure enough, Pope Benedict announced the creation of 23 new cardinals today (18 of whom are under the age of 80 and so eligible to vote in the next papal election) with the magic words "Terro un concistoro" ("There will be a consistory..."), as Rocco notes.

As predicted, the consistory will be held November 24th.

Among the cardinals-designate are two Americans: Abp. Foley (widely predicted to be nominated) and ... Archbishop Daniel Nicholas DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, in an upset over Washington DC's Archbishop Donald Wuerl.

Why is the appointment of cardinals a revealing event? John Allen explains: "Whenever a pope names new members to the church’s most exclusive club, he inevitably makes a statement – about his own priorities, about where the church is going, and ultimately about the sort of men in line to take over when he’s gone."

Here is the full list, separated into those under and over the age of 80 (Italian VIS here):

New Cardinal Electors:

• 1. Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches
• 2. Archbishop John Patrick Foley, Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
• 3. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Governance of the Vatican City-State
• 4. Archbishop Paul Joseph Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"
• 5. Archbishop Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican City-State and President of the Administration of St. Peter’s
• 6. Archbishop Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
• 7. Archbishop Raffaele Farina, Head of the Vatican Archives and Library
• 8. Archbishop Agustín García-Gasco Vicente of Valencia (Spain)
• 9. Archbishop Seán Baptist Brady of Armagh (Ireland)
• 10. Archbishop Lluís Martínez Sistach of Barcellona (Spain)
• 11. Archbishop André Vingt-Trois of Paris (France)
• 12. Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco of Genova (Italy)
• 13. Archbishop Théodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar (Senegal)
• 14. Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Bombay (India)
• 15. Archbishop Francisco Robles Ortega of Monterrey (Mexico)
• 16. Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston (USA)
• 17. Archbishop Odilio Pedro Scherer of São Paulo (Brazil)
• 18. Archbishop John Njue of Nairobi (Kenya)

Honorary Cardinals:

• 1. His Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans
• 2. Archbishop Giovanni Coppa, emeritus Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic
• 3. Archbishop Estanislao Esteban Karlic, emeritus of Paraná (Argentina)
• 4. Fr. Urbano Navarrete, S.J., former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University
• 5. Fr. Umberto Betti, O.F.M., former rector of the Pontifical Lateran University

Background on possible reasons for DiNardo to be chosen ahead of Wuerl:

• John Allen: DiNardo .... is also a veteran of the Roman scene, having served in the Congregation for Bishops from 1984 until 1990. He worked there for a year under the future Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, who at the time was the Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops. Aside from DiNardo’s personal biography, the red hat is also considered a signal of the shifting Catholic population in the United States, away from its traditional center on the East Coast toward the Southwest.
• Rocco Palmo: Don't Mess With Texas: In a First, the Red Hat Goes South

A few observations on the demographics of the college of cardinals by John Allen:

• The appointments bring the total number of American cardinals to 17, and the number of cardinal-electors to 13, both representing the second highest totals in the church after Italy.
• Despite the rapid shift of Catholic population to Africa, Asia and Latin America, where two-thirds of all Catholics today live, only five of the new cardinal-electors come from the global South: a Brazilian, a Mexican, an Indian, a Kenyan, and the archbishop of Dakar in Senegal. Today’s appointments actually strengthened the European dominance in the College of Cardinals.
• Prior to the announcement, 51 of the 104 cardinal-electors were Europeans, or 51 percent; 11 of the 18 cardinal-electors named today are Europeans, representing 61 percent.

More Coverage:

• Associated Press - Pope Names 23 New Cardinals
• John Allen - Foley, DiNardo among 23 new cardinals named today by Benedict XVI
• Full coverage by Rocco Palmo here througout the day (and beyond)
• CNS: Pope names 23 cardinals, including two from U.S.
• Wanton Popery: Texas, we have a cardinal

I have to confirm this to be sure, but at first glance it seems that by creating 18 cardinals Pope Benedict has allowed the college of elligible electors to violate the 120 limit established by Paul VI (at least, until February 20th of next year when the next one passes the age-limit, according to this chart). [Update: Reading the comments it's confirmed that Pope Benedict "derogated by one unit the numeric limit established by Pope Paul VI."]

Perhaps some of that Italian free-spirit is finally influencing our beloved German pontiff in little ways.

Last year AmP provided very complete coverage of the '06 consistory of cardinals. A summary of links for that reporting is available here.

Update: Words of the Holy Father, as related by this morning's VIS bulletin:

He added: "Among these, I had also intended to confer the dignity of cardinal upon the elderly Bishop Ignacy Jez of Koszalin-Kolobrzeg, Poland, a worthy prelate who died suddenly yesterday. We offer a prayer for the repose of his soul."

"The new cardinals come from various parts of the world," said the Holy Father. "And the universality of the Church, with the multiplicity of her ministries, is clearly reflected in them. Alongside deserving prelates who work for the Holy See are pastors who dedicate their energies to direct contact with the faithful."

He went on: "There are other persons, very dear to me who, for their dedication to the service of the Church, well deserve promotion to the dignity of cardinal. In the future I hope to have the opportunity to express, also in this way, my esteem and affection to them and to their countries of origin."

Benedict entrusted the future cardinals "to the protection of Mary Most Holy asking her to help each of them in their new tasks, that they may know how to bear courageous witness in all circumstances to their love for Christ and for the Church."

Seven notable thing about this most recent crop of cardinals from John Allen:

• He recognized the shifting center of the Catholic population in the United States from the East Coast to the Southwest
• He signaled the importance of the American church by giving the country two new cardinals, although the U.S. is already over-represented in the College of Cardinals relative to its Catholic population
• He did not redistribute cardinals to the global South, where two-thirds of Catholics now live, but instead slightly bolstered the over-representation of Europeans
• He kept the percentage of Vatican officials among electors roughly the same at 25 percent
• He indicated his sympathy for Iraq by naming the Chaldean patriarch a cardinal
• He confirmed his concern for the intellectual life of the church by giving honorary red hats to two former rectors of flagship pontifical universities in Rome
• He introduced at least two new candidates to become the first pope from the global South: Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, and John Njue of Nairobi, Kenya.

More observations by Allen about the choice of DiNardo:

Benedict XVI named Archbishop Daniel DiNardo of Glaveston-Houston to the College of Cardinals rather than the man widely presumed to be next in line among the Americans, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. That choice undoubtedly reflects the shifting demographics of American Catholicism, away from its traditional centers on the East Coast and towards the Southwest. According to estimates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, almost 40 percent of Catholics in the United States today are Hispanic, overwhelmingly concentrated in the “Sun Belt” states of the South and Southwest.

Update 2: An AmP reader makes this observation re: Wuerl's lack of red-hatting:

Washington's Archbishop emeritus Theodore Cardinal McCarrick is under 80 and still an elector. They never have 2 electors from the same see. We have the same situation in Baltimore and will have it again in NY and Philadelphia in the near future. Archbishop O'Malley would not have been named a cardinal had not Cardinal Law been given a new post in Rome.

Makes sense to me.

Photo 1: "Pope Benedict XVI gestures during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's square at the Vatican Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, while reading the list of the new cardinals the pontiff will elevate in a solemn ceremony next Nov. 24. " Source: AP Photo/Plinio Lepri.

Follow-ups to three important current stories

In reference to this post about the continued public disagreement among certain bishops regarding the practice of Canon 915 (on denying the Eucharist), Jimmy Akin suggests its high time the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts gets involved.

In reference to an earlier report that Pope Benedict might officially announced the next Consistory tomorrow morning, Rocco finds the rumors reliable enough that he's going to wake up early tomorrow (530am EST) to cover the General Audience live. You can watch it streaming on Vatican TV here.

Finally, after earlier coverage of the MHR parish website deleting a previously-published 'thank you' note from an offending transvestite individual, I've since noticed that LifeSiteNews also reported that the action by the MHR parish was taken at the behest of Abp. Niederauer:

Maurice Healy, spokesman for Archbishop Niederauer, said that the note was removed after the Archbishop called the parish about the matter.

"We did see it, and the parish has removed it from the website," said Healy.

"The archbishop talked with the parish and they saw the wisdom of not including that letter."

Again, why did the spokesman refuse to take this decision as an opportunity to explain why there was no wisdom in publishing the letter. Or for that matter, the Archbishop?

Why can't we ask him to take this opportunity as a general teaching moment ... (?)

Consistory Watch '07: Could be Announced Tomorrow!

Consistory Watch '07 brings you this breaking news bulletin....

Catholic News Agency reports:

Sources at the Vatican have informed CNA that Pope Benedict XVI will announce during tomorrow’s General Audience that he will convene a consistory to create new cardinals in November.

Rocco is hearing whispers as well:

In keeping with the timetable you're already well clued-in on, the Italian daily Il Messaggero is reporting that the announcement of a 24 November consistory and up to 20 cardinals-designate will likely be made tomorrow morning at the Pope's General Audience.

(Sed Contra, Rocco notes:

Another consistently reliable Roman source, however, said earlier today that he was "really doubtful" the announcement would take place and that he hasn't found anyone "who has even had a whiff of this.")

As was the case last time, it's never a sure thing until it happens.

Precisely seventeen Cardinals-designate are expected to be named at the announcement.

U.S. appointments would likely include at least Archbishop Donald Wuerl, from right here in DC, as well as Archbishop John Patrick Foley, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, in keeping with past tradition.

The likely date for the consistory would be November 24th.

(Note: I have a feeling on this one because Consistory news always seems to coincide with periods of time when I am most occupied with school, work and other obligations. So now would be perfect.)

Thanksgiving Turkey and New Cardinals...

... might share the same day this year, Rocco reports.

New cardinals to be named this week?

CWNews summarizes the signs and lists the likely candidates:

"Rumors are swirling around Rome that Pope Benedict XVI will soon announce a consistory for the creation of new cardinals, to be held late in November 2007.

Speculation about a November consistory began in July. Journalists in Rome now suggest that the Pope could announce his plans this week." [More.]

... our own Abp. Wuerl is likely to make the cut. Up to 17 could be named.