Failing health, Francis traveled by helicopter to the central Italian city of L’Aquila to pray at the tomb of medieval Pope Celestine V.
Would he, like Benedict XVI 13 years ago, combine this visit with a gesture or even an announcement of his resignation? The speculation was fueled by the fact that the pope wanted to make the trip in the middle of an unusual multi-day cardinal assembly. The subject of resignation came up twice: the hermit pope buried in L’Aquila was the first pope to voluntarily resign in 1294. Benedict then did this voluntarily in 2013 as the second pope in church history – and at that moment many remembered that a few years earlier he had made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Pope Celestine and had laid down his bishop’s stole there in a strange gesture.
When Benedict announced his resignation, he also did so at a cardinal assembly in Rome. These points seemed to apply to Francis: the trip to the “patron of papal resignations”, the convening of a cardinal assembly – and the burden of old age and knee pain that have forced him into a wheelchair for months.
Debates on “curial reform”
But there was no sign of a resignation at the weekend. Neither on Saturday at the Cardinal Assembly with the nomination of 20 new purple bearers nor yesterday in L’Aquila – Francis did not once get involved in words or gestures on this topic.
The gaze of the observers is now directed with all the more excitement to the two-day deliberations of the College of Cardinals that begin today. More than twelve hours are scheduled for debates in language groups and in plenary sessions. The topic is the “curial reform” decided by Francis, i.e. a restructuring and a new constitution for the central administration of the Catholic world church in Rome. And this is quite controversial – among both conservatives and liberals.
Incidentally, the pope elevated the author of the reform, the Jesuit priest and canon lawyer Gianfranco Ghirlanda, to the rank of cardinal on Saturday – along with 19 others. The newcomers knelt before the Pope, who presented them with the biretta and cardinal’s ring and assigned each of them a church in Rome. The rite continued with the profession of faith and the oath of fidelity and obedience.
Praying with Benedict XVI
Francis had already announced the names of the new purple wearers at the end of May. Among them are two from Brazil, two from India, one each from Singapore, Nigeria, Ghana, Paraguay, East Timor, Korea and also one from Mongolia. They also rejuvenate the college. The youngest new cardinal is only 48.
Before his trip to L’Aquila, Francis and the new cardinals visited Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. at his home in the Vatican. As the Vatican News portal announced via Twitter, they prayed the “Salve Regina” together with the 95-year-old.
Source: Nachrichten
