London, GB | Formerly of New York, Buenos Aires, Fife, and the Western Cape. | Saoránach d’Éirinn.

Pope Francis

THE SACRED COLLEGE have elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, to be Rome’s new bishop and our Supreme Pontiff. He has chosen to take the name of FRANCIS.

One immediately recalls the words Our Lord spoke to Francis of Assisi in the great saint’s vision at San Damiano:

Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.

We pray that the Holy Father will continue the work of his predecessors in safeguarding the flock, and will do his part to fulfil the task given to his namesake, St Francis of Assisi.

God bless our pope!

Published at 11:45 pm on Wednesday 13 March 2013. Categories: Church Vatican Tags: , .
Comments

I wouldn’t be so sure that His Holiness had in mind St Francis of Assisi. On Tuesday, Cardinal Bergoglio, as a good Jesuit, would have completed the Novena of Grace of St Francis Xavier. As a Pope of the New Evangelisation who better to dedicate his Pontificate to than the greatest of missionaries/evangelists?

Hugh McLoughlin 14 Mar 2013 10:33 am

Hugh, I believe Fr Lombardi the press chappie has clarified that it is St Francis of Assisi the Pope had in mind. But I’m sure St Francis Xavier can be added in as another level of understanding!

Andrew Cusack 14 Mar 2013 1:02 pm

Mr. Cusack, will there be any posts over the coming days on impressions of the Holy Father you or those personally known to you might have gathered during his years in Bs. As.?

And yes, Cardinal Dolan recently told a reporter that the Holy Father made it explicit he took the name “in honor of Francis of Assisi.”

J.P. 14 Mar 2013 6:23 pm

Lombardi has also said that the Pope will be known as Pope Francis, rather than Pope Francis I.
This is illiterate: John Paul I used the number, as did the Emperor Franz Josef I.
Is there no culture left anywhere?
The new Pope’s homily in the Sistina today was, by the way, magnificent. He quoted Leon Bloy:”He who does not pray to God prays to the Devil”. Sounds rather like Pius X to me.

B T Van Nostrand 14 Mar 2013 7:01 pm

Lombardi is correct. Properly speaking, there isn’t a Francis I until there’a a Francis II.

JEDESTO 14 Mar 2013 9:35 pm

J.P.: Perhaps.

Mr van Nostrand: True, and he obviously is “the First”. But a sovereign dictates his own correct style, surely. This doesn’t forbid us from referring to him as “Francis I”. Those who tiresomely say “there can’t be a first until there’s a second” I can only presume refrain from, for example, calling Mr Obama “America’s first black president”, as there hasn’t been a second yet.

Andrew Cusack 15 Mar 2013 4:59 pm

“Babette’s Feast” is his favourite film, and he prefers Beethoven and Wagner as interpreted by Furtwängler. I am beginning to like this man!

B T Van Nostrand 17 Mar 2013 10:37 am

” he prefers Beethoven and Wagner as interpreted by Furtwängler “. oh dear that must send alarm signals rining in the MSM from New York to Tel Aviv. Just in case Pope Francis hasn’t got the message the Daily Telegraph reports ” Over the past twelve years there has been a rich and fruitful dialogue between the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel on primary issues such as banning terrorism in God’s Name, the sanctity of life, the sanctity of the family unit, etc,” the chief rabbinate said in a statement. “This dialogue has led to significant achievements over the years, such as Holy See’s decision to heed the Chief Rabbinate’s request and suspend Holocaust-denier Bishop Richard Williamson, and the modification of sections of the Good Friday liturgy that were harsh and insulting towards the Jewish People

peter 17 Mar 2013 6:24 pm
Leave a comment

NAME (required)

EMAIL (required)

WEBSITE (not required)

COMMENT

Home | About | Contact | Paginated Index | Twitter | Facebook | RSS/Atom Feed
andrewcusack.com | © Andrew Cusack 2004-present (Unless otherwise stated)