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August 24, 2026“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Considering the literal transfer of Church leadership to Peter, we might take note of some obscure but relevant information surrounding the papacy.
According to Canon Law, any unmarried, baptized male Catholic, clergy or not, is eligible to be pope. However, in the last seven centuries only cardinals have been elected. When the college of Cardinals—guided by the Holy Spirit—choose the next pope, the successor if you will, considers his new name. Pope Leo XIV took the name that was first chosen in 440. Pope Leo I is best known as the successor to Peter who convinced Attila the Hun to reconsider his invasion of Rome. Such is not a requirement, though the last to keep his baptismal name was Pope Marcellus II in 1555.Since 1798, the pope's vestments—robe, chausible, miter, stole— have been crafted by the Gammarelli family tailors in Rome. As the cardinals gather in Rome to choose the next pope, the Gammeralli family is busy crafting three sets of vestments—small, medium, large—to accommodate the yet to be chosen individual as successor. Because of his unique position as successor to Peter, the Pope must be fluent in Latin, the official language of the Church, and Italian aside from his native tongue. Pope Francis was fluent in Spanish, English, German, Italian, Portuguese.There continues to be some misunderstanding of “papal infallibility.”As a human, the pope himself is not infallible.Thus, the pope makes frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the confessor he chooses.As successor of Peter, he is only infallible when issuing decrees about faith and morals.
Pope Leo XIV, the 267th chosen successor of Peter, is one of 39 who have been members of religious orders: 18 Benedictines, 7 Augustinians, 5 Dominicans, 5 Franciscans, 2 Cistercians, I Theatine, and one Jesuit (Pope Francis).Just FYI, in Iowa we have a Trappist monastery of the Cistercian order, New Mallory Abbey near Peosta.And finally, declaring a pope’s death took place only after the tradition of tapping his forehead three times with a silver hammer, while calling out his baptismal name. Presently, after a medical examiner declares the death, a towel is placed over his face. Though the Vatican has presumably many riches, the Pope owns nothing during his papacy.Upon his calling to the papacy, he relinquishes all his possessions, financial and material.One of the most memorable speeches given by a pope was that of Pope John XXIII, on the eve of the Vatican Council II gathering, October 11, 1962. On that evening, noticing a large number of folks from various backgrounds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, he addressed them.Dear children,I hear your voices. Mine is only a single voice. But what resounds here is the voice of the whole world; here all the world is represented. One might even say that the moon rushed here this evening – Look at her high up there – to behold this spectacle.This is how we close a great day of peace … of peace!“Glory to God and peace to men of good will”.We often repeat this greeting.And when we can say that the ray, the sweetness of the peace of the Lord truly unites us and carries us, we say: here is a taste of what should be the life of all the centuries and of the life that awaits us in eternity.
How about a little more. If I asked – if I could ask – each of you,‘You, where do you come from?’. . . .For this is what in God’s Providence you have been called to be, for the spread of truth and of Christian peace?In these words is the response to your homage. My own person counts for nothing – it is a brother who speaks to you, who has become a father by the will of the Lord … but everyone together, in paternity and fraternity, and the grace of God, everything, everything … Let us continue, therefore, to love each other, to love each other so, by looking at each other in our encounters with one another: taking up what unites us and setting aside anything that might keep us in a bit of difficulty. . . .We belong, therefore, to a time in which we are sensitive to the voices that come from above: and we want to be faithful and to stand according to the directions which our Blessed Christ has given us. I end by giving you the Blessing. . . .This evening the spectacle offered to me is one that will remain in my memory as it will in yours. Let us honour the images of this evening! That our feelings might always be just as they are now as we express them before heaven and before the earth. Faith, Hope, Charity, the love of God, the love of our brothers and sisters; and then everyone together helped by the holy peace of the Lord, in doing good works. When you go back home, you will find your children: and give them a hug and say,“This is a hug from the Pope.You will find some tears that need to be dried: speak a good word:“The Pope is with us, especially in times of sadness and bitterness.”And then all together let us encourage one another: singing, breathing, weeping, but always full of faith in Christ who helps us and who listens to us, let us continue on our journey.”God Bless, Fr. Tim
FYI:“First day of school! Wake up! Come on. First day of school.”(Nemo from Finding Nemo)