Cardinal Piacenza Taking Possession of His Titular Church in Rome

Continuing our coverage of cardinals created at last year's consistory taking ossession of their Roman titular churches (see here for Card. Burke and here for Cardinals Amato and Ranjith), on Saturday afternoon, Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, took possession of his deaconry, St Paul at the Three Fountains (San Paolo alle Tre Fontane), which stands at the site where the blessed Apostle was beheaded, and was given as a cardinalatial deaconry for the first time.

The Mass was celebrated as an anticipated Mass of Lætare Sunday; hence we see a very fine set of Roman rose vestments.







Images: Offerimus tibi Domine, where you also find some background on the assignation of this church to Card. Piacenza.

Cardinals Amato and Ranjith Taking Possession of Their Titular Churches in Rome

Last week, we reported on Raymond Cardinal Burke taking possession of his titular church. Over the last weekend, two other prominent cardinals took possession of their titular churches. On Friday, 11 February, His Eminence Antonio Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, took possession of the deaconry of St. Mary in Aquiro. On Sunday, 13 February, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, took possession of the Title of St. Lawrence in Lucina (this basilica minor is also the station church of the Friday after the third Sunday of Lent). Here are some photographs. Note that on both occasions, full pontifical vestments were worn, and what has become known as the "Benedictine altar arrangement" was used. Papal Master of Ceremonies Msgr. Marco Agostini acted as Master of Ceremonies in both cases (as well as for Card. Burke).

Card. Amato:








Card. Ranjith:



















Images: Osservatore Romano/Catholic Press Photo.

Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals 2010

As announced a month ago, this morning the Holiness of our Lord Pope Benedict XVI is holding an ordinary public Consistory for the creation of new cardinals. As mentioned then, among those raised to the sacred purple are two great friends of both the usus antiquior and a reform of the reform, Their Excellencies Archbishops Raymond Burke and Malcolm Ranjith, as well as Domenico Bartolucci, the former maestro of the Sistine Chapel (see a full list here).

Here are some impressions of this morning's celebration.

The ceremony is begun with a fanfare from the inner loggia of St. Peter's Basilica:





The Holy Father pronounces the formula of creation:

Itaque auctoritate omnipotentis Dei, sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra hos venerabiles Fratres creamus et sollemniter enuntiamus Sanctæ
Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinales.

Cardinal Amato delivering the address of homage on behalf of the newly created cardinals:


The Gospel is sung:


The new cardinals swear their oath of fealty towrds the Supreme Pontiff and his successors:


Now the Holy Father imposes the red birettas and assigns the titular churches, using the formula:

Ad honorem Dei omnipotentis et sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, tibi committimus Titulum (vel Diaconiam) N. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. R. Amen.

You can find a list of the titular churches assigned here.

Cardinal Ranjith:



Cardinal Burke, who was assigned S. Agata de’ Goti, the former titular church of the great Papal Master of Ceremonies Enrico Dante and, I might add, of the great bishop of my own diocese, Konrad Count of Preysing, as well as of Giuseppe Pecci, the brother of pope Leo XIII, and of Ercole Consalvi, the famous Secretary of State of Pius VII:


Cardinal Marx, the Pope's successor as Archbishop of Munich and Freising:


Cardinal Bartolucci:


The new cardinals exchange the sign of peace with the other cardinals:

Pope Benedict Announces Creation of New Cardinals

This morning, Our Most Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI announced, that on Saturday, 20 November 2010, he will hold an ordinary public Consistory for the creation new cardinals. Among those elevated to the sacred purple are two great friends of both the usus antiquior and a reform of the reform: Their Excellencies Archbishops Raymond Burke and Malcolm Ranjith. Also noteworthy is the elevation of Domenico Bartolucci, the former maestro of the Sistine Chapel. This, then, is an occasion of joy. Here is a complete list:

Roman Curia

1. Archbishop Angelo Amato SDB, 72, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints


2. Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, 66, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy


3. Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, 68, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture


4. Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, 75, major penitentiary of the Roman church


5. Archbishop Velasio De Paolis CS, 75, prefect for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See


6. Archbishop Raymond Burke, 62, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura


7. Archbishop Kurt Koch, 60, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity


8. Archbishop Robert Sarah, 65, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum


9. Archbishop Paolo Sardi, 76, pro-Patron of the Order of Malta


10. Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, 76, archpriest of the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls

Residential Cardinals:

11. Antonio Naguib, 75, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts


12. Archbishop Paolo Romeo of Palermo, 72


13. Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, 57


14. Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, 60


15. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, 69


16. Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, 71


17. Archbishop-emeritus Medardo Joseph Mazombwe of Lusaka, 79


18. Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, 62


19. Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, 73


20. Archbishop-emeritus Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga of Quito, 76

Non-elector Cardinals over 80 years of age:

21. Archbishop José Manuel Estepa Llaurens, 84, Archbishop-emeritus of the Spanish Armed Forces


22. Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, 82, president-emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life


23. Monsignor Domenico Bartolucci, 93, the director-emeritus of the Sistine Chapel


24. Monsignor Walter Brandmüller, 81, president-emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for Historical Sciences

Film Footage of the Consistory of 1946

My friend Alipius, an Augustinian Canon of Klosterneuburg, has found this spectacular footage from the 1946 public consistory for the creation of new cardinals (among the elevated is Blessed Clement Augustus Count of Galen, Bishop and "Lion" of Münster) from the archives of Britsh Pathé. Click on the image below to go their wbesite and see the video. For a description of the ceremonies, read our own Nicola DeGrandi's post on the subject.

On a personal note, what I like most about these pictures - apart from the splendid ceremonial - is the beautiful smile of the Holy Father Pius XII, which you so seldom see in static photographs.

New Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina Taking Possession

On Low Sunday, José Cardinal Saraiva Martins C.M.F., Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, took possession of the suburbicarian diocese of Palestrina. He had been appointed Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina by Pope Benedict on 24 February, following the death of the previous titular, Card. Gantin, in 2008.

For those who are less familiar with the interior workings of the College of Cardinals: As Can. 350 §1 of the Code of Canon Law states:

The College of Cardinals is divided into three orders: the episcopal order, to which belong those Cardinals to whom the Roman Pontiff assigns the title of a suburbicarian Church, and eastern-rite Patriarchs who are made members of the College of Cardinals; the presbyteral order, and the diaconal order

.
For more details see, e.g., EWTN's page on the Sacred College.

I have found some pictures of the occasion from the Osservatore Romano. The first two show the reception of the Cardinal at the door of the Cathedral, where he is given a Crucifix to kiss and then Holy Water to sprinkle those present, as foreseen for the reception of a bishop. The other images show the Cardinal during Mass, for which he wore a rather beautiful Roman chasuble and the pontifical dalmatic. The MC is Msgr. Francesco Camaldo, one of the papal MCs.