St. Mary's Church, Roslyn: Pastor's Page

Conclave

by

From the Desk of Father McCartney

As we arrive at the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the members of the College of Cardinals continue to meet in Rome in preparation for the election of the new pope. By the time you will read this, we should know the date of the opening of the “conclave” which will begin the actual voting process. That word has an interesting history.

Pope Clement IV died in 1268. When the cardinals met in Viterbo, Italy, to elect the new pope, there were divisions among the French and Italian cardinals, each group wanting the pope to come from their home country. The impasse lasted two years and nine months, the longest interregnum period in the Church’s history to this day. It was only brought to a conclusion when the good citizens of Viterbo, having had enough, locked the cardinals in, and then removed the roof from the building, exposing them to the elements. The townspeople did, however, periodically send in bread and water. Eventually, on September 1, 1271, Pope Gregory X (an Italian) was elected.

Interestingly, he was not even there. Nor was he a cardinal. At the time of his election, he was a papal legate (ambassador) in Palestine, fighting a crusade with Prince Edward “Longshanks” of England, who would later become King Edward I (the king depicted in the movie Braveheart). When informed of his election, he immediately departed Palestine, but it took the new pope three months to get back to Italy.

Pope Gregory, wanting to avoid a repetition of the farce that resulted in his own election, issued a papal bull in 1274 outlining rules for future papal elections. In the document entitled Ubi periculum, he decreed that in future the cardinals should be locked in con clavis (“with a key”), and not permitted to leave until a new Pope had been elected. And so that is why the election of a new pope is said to be done in conclave to this day.

−Fr. McCartney

____________________________________________________

For the best live coverage of and commentary on the daily events regarding the conclave and the election of the new pope, go to EWTN at channel 135 in our area.

Catholic Education

by

From the Desk of Father McCartney

My dear people of St. Mary’s:

I was very happy to be able to introduce myself to you at all the masses last weekend. The ship is underway! I am also glad to report that Fr. Lauder has returned to us following his knee replacement surgery; he offered the 12:15 pm mass for us last weekend.

This weekend Dom Elias Carr, the headmaster of All Saints Regional Catholic School in Glen Cove, will be speaking to us at all the masses. As you know, All Saints is the regional school we   participate in here at St. Mary’s. Serving children from Prekindergarten through the Eighth Grade, it offers an excellent academic curriculum, sports and other activities, as well as superior formation in the Catholic Faith. Many of us are products of Catholic education. If you are, you know how valuable that education is for a lifetime, and for an eternity. At this time, when so many Catholic schools are closing, it is a blessing to have such a fine Catholic school in our neighborhood as an option for our children.

Fr. Elias will be inviting interested families to an open house on Wednesday, March 6, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the school. I encourage all families in the parish to consider the benefits of a   Catholic education for their children.

 −Fr. McCartney