Seven new saints

Today was a day of great joy in Rome, and in the Church as a whole. Seven new saints were canonized in one ceremony, including Pope Paul VI (my first Pope when I was growing up) and Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. A very powerful film was made about +Romero in 1989 starring Raul Julia. If you get a chance to see it, you should.

The bishops first gathered in the basilica itself for vesting and general getting ready:

Once all was set, we headed out to the upper level of the steps, as the mass was to take place outside. It was a gorgeous day! Banners were hung off the balconies of Saint Peter's showing the images of the seven saints to be canonized. I could only get 6 in the frame of my camera at once, so here are two pictures of the banners so you can see all 7 images:

I had never been to a canonization mass before, so I was not too sure what to expect. As it turns out, it was pretty much like any other mass, with a few additions. We began with the sign of the cross as usual, and then we began the ritual of canonization. After the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus, the Prefect of the Congregation for Saints came forward and made a formal request asking the Pope to canonize the seven candidates. A brief biography was ready for each, and the Pope declared that their enrollment among the saints and that the Christian faithful could venerate each as such. We sang the Gloria, and the Pope ordered that Apostolic letters be drafted for each saint corresponding to the declaration that had just been made. The mass then proceeded as usual.

Except, of course, it was not a usual mass! The ritual was pretty much the same (with the nice touch of the 7 new saints being mentioned at the appropriate spot in Eucharistic Prayer III), but the size of the event was huge. Since seeing is believing, I made this little video at the end to give you a sense of scale:

After mass was over we hopped a small shuttle bus that let 3 of the Canadian bishops off close to the Canadian College in Rome, where a reception and lunch was hosted for the bishops of the Synod by the rector and residents of the college. It was a nice conclusion to the morning's events.

Double duty at the Synod

Yesterday and today we were back in our small groups for discussion of part II of the Instrumentum laboris. Once again, I feel so blessed to be in my particular small group. Everyone has participated, and the interventions have never felt out of place.

I wound up doing double duty in our small group, however. We have both a Moderator (Cardinal Joseph Coutts of Pakistan) and a Rapporteur (myself). Cardinal Coutts was unavailable for these sessions, however, so I wound up co-chairing the meeting along with our theological "expert" assigned to the group. Many thanks to Kevin for accepting to help -- we made a good team. Still, it was not always easy keeping my eyes on who was raising their hand to speak while also trying to keep the minutes of the meeting going!

Apart from going out for coffee with a friend in the afternoon the rest of my day was pretty much spent working on my notes from the small group. We will need to be voting on our modi next Monday morning; as well, all Rapporteurs will also need to hand in the small group report to the Synod secretariat by Monday noon.

So no pictures today, but I thought you might be interested to see my commute from my residence to the Paul VI Synod hall:

A very nice walk 2-4 times per day. Good to get some exercise.

Ciao for now!

Condolences to Bishop Jaya Polimera

A week ago I wrote about my connection with +Jaya Polimera, the bishop of the diocese of Eluru in India. 

I learned today that Bishop Polimera's mother just passed away. He has therefore left the Synod to return to India for the funeral arrangements.

I ask your prayers for him, for her, and for the whole family.

You can learn more about the diocese of Eluru from their website.

A first in the history of Synods

What do you do when you are trying to get to your seat in the Synod hall and the Pope is blocking your way?

Why you get out your camera of course! Especially when he is busy chatting with the first two bishops from mainland China to come to a Synod since the Communist takeover in 1949.

The two bishops in question had brought pectoral crosses and episcopal rings that they asked the Pope to bless for them. I caught that moment here:

Not my best picture, but historic nonetheless. I have to thank the official Papal photographer who saw what I was trying to do and allowed me to get in close, even moving aside to give me a bit better angle.

Some have questioned if it was wise for the Pope to sign the agreement with the Chinese government that recognized a role for the Communist party in the selection of bishops in mainland China. This is a serious point, and I for one would like to see the text of the actual agreement that was signed before completing my own thoughts on the matter. I am generally opposed to governments interfering in the selection of successors of the Apostles -- after all, Jesus picked Peter and the rest of the Twelve freely, no one forced him to consult Herod or Pontius Pilate first (thank goodness). Still, a similar sounding agreement has been in place in Vietnam for years (also run by Communists) and has permitted a certain freedom to the Church there. So I am of two minds on the matter.

There is no question in my mind about one thing, mind you: these two bishops were genuinely delighted and touched to be so close to the Pope. They know how rare this chance is, and I have to believe that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Unity, will touch their hearts as they head back home and share the experience with their brother bishops.

Sitting where a saint sat

While I had already shared the link on other social media (Facebook and Twitter), I thought it might be nice to have a "blog post of record" for the interview I did with Vatican News on Wednesday October 10.

First of all, if you want to listen to the interview, here is a link to the podcast (in French):

https://www.vaticannews.va/fr/podcast/emissions-speciales-synode-des-jeunes/emission-speciale-10-octobre-2018-dowd.html#play.html

The interview took place in a small studio set up for radio. I couldn't help but notice this plaque on the wall:

For those who don't read Italian, the plaque reads:

Studio Karol Wojtyla / In this radio studio, in the period 1972-1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was hosted on 21 radio programs from Vatican Radio in Polish.

And for those who don't know who Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was, he was later more famously known as... Pope John Paul II! Now Saint John Paul II!

Now that was cool. A saint sat in this very room to do much the same thing I was doing. It was very humbling.

The Spiritual Protector of the Order of Saint Lazarus

A few years ago I was invited to join the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Order of Saint Lazarus, or OSL, for short). This was once an order of knighthood recognized by the Holy See, although during the centuries the patronage of the Order passed to other sovereigns. Today, it is no longer an order of knighthood under the Pope, and has evolved into an ecumenical Christian order (as opposed to exclusively Catholic). The Order still has a Spiritual Protector, however, who is the Catholic Patriarch of Antioch of the Melkites, Bishop Joseph Absi. And as it happens, he is also at the Synod!

It was an honour to meet him, and I made sure to get a selfie to share with the other members of the Order back home. I'm happy to share it with you as well!

Reporting in! + our first Synod miracle

Today were were back in our fancy bishop outfits as the small groups were over -- it was time to report back to the Pope and the rest of the Synod members on the deliberations in those small groups. As rapporteur it was my responsibility to offer this report, and it took up most of the morning. Each rapporteur had up to 10 minutes for his report, and there were apparently 14 reports to listen to... well, you can imagine, it got a bit wearisome after a while. I lucked out, mind you. My name was called to get ready to speak, and suddenly the schedule keeper announced that it was time for a break! So I got a chance to give my report after everyone had had a coffee, which helped enormously -- at least for me!

As the break was winding down I got a chance to meet Cardinal Tagle of Manila. I call him the "smiling Cardinal", because it is clear he likes to be happy and cheerful (like most Filipinos I know)!

My presentation after the break went very well, as did the rest. Still, we tired out pretty quickly once again -- it was a lot to take in. We managed to get them all done about half and hour before the usual end time for the morning session, so the chair decided that this would be a good occasion to give the Synod participants a chance to offer "interventi libri" (unplanned, free interventions) on what they had heard. 3 minutes maximum per person, please!

Except... no one pressed the button to request to speak.

Not one.

Not a single one.

Out of 300+ people. Including 250+ bishops, among whom there are usually a few who, shall we say, are not exactly afraid of a microphone.

With that silence, the chair decided that we had had enough, and let us go early.

As I was leaving, I thought to myself in disbelief, "Not a single bishop wanted to take the floor and speak?" There could be only one explanation: I had just witnessed my first Synod miracle. :-)

Praying in Rome

Some of my friends out there in the digital world will remember a Facebook post a few months back in which I wrote about making my own prayer bench out of a few pieces of scrap wood. Here is what I wrote:

A few months ago I was wandering through a hardware store and saw they had some prayer benches on sale for $1.98. Well, not quite. What they had were pieces of scrap lumber on sale for 99 cents each, but where some might see two bits of wood I saw a prayer bench. Today I had a chance to do my St. Joseph impersonation and build my bench using a few hand tools, some spare screws, and a few decades of the rosary. I'm quite pleased with the result, and I find there is a parable here. We often see ourselves (and others) as scrap, but its just a matter of perspective. In the eyes of the Great Artisan, we have unlimited potential.

And here was the photo of the prayer bench:

I must say I love this prayer bench. Placing it under my hips helps me sit upright (no slouching), with a good centre of balance so my back has very little stress. And with it I also feel like I am kneeling, which put me in a good frame of mind for prayer. It sort of combines three postures in one: standing, sitting and kneeling all in one.

Naturally, I wanted to bring my prayer bench to Rome. Except, of course, that it is way too bulky to fit in my suitcase. So I needed another plan.

A day before leaving for Rome I went back to the hardware store, and this time bought some slimmer pieces of wood, some shorter screws, and a long flat metal hinge. A bit of work with a regular saw (for the wood) and a hacksaw (for the metal hinge) later, and I came up with this:

Looks about the same, right? Except here is where the magic happens. The legs are actually held in place by the flat hinges, so they fold!

They can even fold completely down (this is the bench upside down):

This, my friends, fits in my suitcase just fine. If I had had more time I would have made it a bit nicer (slightly longer legs, slightly shorter sitting plank, a bit more sanding on the ends and edges, etc.) but it is working just fine.

I try and get an hour of meditative prayer in each day, and this bench really helps. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get good at this woodworking thing, but for know, even if it ain't pretty, practical works!

So much for Thanksgiving... back to work!

Monday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Here in Rome, there was not a turkey in sight (as long as you don't count the bishops themselves, of course). It was also the day for our small groups to meet and finalize the observations we wanted to make for the main assembly, as well as to vote on concrete proposals to modify the Instrumentum laboris. 

These small group tasks meant that, as Rapporteur, I had two main jobs today:

1. To prepare a set of minutes summarizing the previous 4 sessions of small group meetings.
2. To prepare the texts of the proposals and chair the voting on those proposals.

In order to facilitate this work I had given the members of our small group my work email address, so they could send me their proposals in advance (allowing me to just copy and paste). Unfortunately, as reported in my previous blog post, the email server in Canada went kaput, so I did not get them as early as I would have hoped. I therefore headed over early to the Paul VI Hall, where I knew there was reliable wifi. While I am not a morning person, I have to admit my commute is not that bad. Here is my main view as I walk along the Via della Conciliazione:

Yup, not bad at all. Anyway, I managed to get a whole bunch of the proposals received this far transferred into the special forms the general secretariat of the Synod was asking us to use (I created my own template in Word to make things go faster). Then, after our morning session (when even more proposals were developed) I shifted into high gear. In total, 65 proposals had come in! Happily I had also brought a mobile printer with my from Canada, so I was able to print these documents on the spot.

Despite taking a bit long in the beginning, the session for the voting went well. We managed to finish voting on all the proposals 30 minutes early, allowing me to make corrections and amendments to the sheets as necessary (as well as type up the minutes). Our deadline was 7:30 pm, and with the help of the two trusty assistants in our group we managed to get the paper copies of everything handed in. Of course, upon entering the secretariat I was asked for a USB key with the electronic copies -- the first I had heard of this requirement! Well, I told the fellow he'd get it tomorrow, as it had been enough for one day. 

I want to thank my small group for their collaboration. They did their part, offering their observations and suggestions, but they did it in a way that helped me do my own work. It's great to work as a team!

The Lord's day of rest

The "work week" of the Synod runs from Monday to Saturday. While a six-day work week may seem long to those of us who treasure our weekends, it is actually quite Biblical, especially when we consider that in the Christian tradition it is Sunday that is called the "Lord's Day".

Of course, the Lord's Day means we should spend some time with the Lord! A relaxed early morning was followed by a visit to a friend where we had a chance to celebrate mass in a small chapel.

After mass we climbed on the roof terrace of one of the Roman residences to listen to the Pope offer his Angelus Message (as he does every Sunday). In this picture you can see the crowd in Saint Peter's square:

Once that was over, a light aperitif was followed by a delicious lunch shared by the Canadian Latin-rite bishops in Rome, along with Father Frank Leo, the General Secretary of the CCCB. Cardinal Marc Ouellet was our gracious host:

Left to right: Fr. Frank Leo; +Stephen Jensen; Me; Cardinal Ouellet; +Luc Cyr; +Lionel Gendron; and Cardinal Lacroix.

After lunch I headed to the Canadian College to use their wifi (as I explained earlier, the wifi at my current Roman residence is terrible, especially later in the day) and I had quite a bit of work to do for the small group for which I was elected Rapporteur. In the end, however, I did not get that much done, because the email server back home in Montreal started to go wonky (and flat out died around midnight). I suppose it was just as well, as it gave me a chance to catch up with friends. I guess the Lord really did want me to rest today!

Youth event in the Paul VI Hall

There is more to a Synod than just meetings. We get lots of invitations to different events around Rome, although most of these are not officially part of the Synod program. Tonight was different: we were asked to attend a gathering in Paul VI Hall with a large group of young people for a presentation of different witness talks and artistic performances. Of course, this event was part of the official program for the Synod, so you might say they made us an offer they didn't want us to refuse...

Here is a photo to give you a sense of scale:

To be honest, this doesn't really give you a sense of scale, so I also did a video where I pan 360-degrees:

The event kicked off a little after 5 pm when the Pope showed up. It's not my best picture of him, but here he is passing my row to get to his chair (just one more row up).

As I said, it was a night of testimonies and performances, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I found the witness talks particularly touching, as people really shared their joys and struggles. The evening concluded with a talk by Pope Francis, in which he encouraged the Synod fathers present to be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we seek to address the issues presented.

A little bit of India in the heart of Rome

Back in December 2013 I had a chance to visit India with the Heralds of Good News community. As part of that trip, I had a chance to visit with Jaya Rao Polimera, the recently-appointed bishop of Eluru diocese:

Imagine my surprise when I saw his name appear on the big screen during one of the Synod speeches! I immediately checked the elenchus (official list of participants) and saw that, indeed, he was also in Rome for the Synod!

As it happens, I had his contact information in my phone, so I was able to connect with him via WhatsApp. I didn't recognize him at first, as his beard had been trimmed (and was a little greyer, like mine). But we picked up right where we left off, including an invitation to lunch with a community of nuns from India that is right here in Rome.

Today, after the small group meeting, we hopped in cab and headed over the sister's home, where I got a chance to enjoy home-made curry, biryani, sambar, and so on. I complemented the sisters on the excellent food, but I joked when they served fresh fruit for dessert. "The sisters made the meal," I said, "but the dessert was made by God!" We had a good laugh.

The community is called the Franciscan Sisters of Aloysius Gonzaga. I had never heard of their community before visiting them, but apparently they have over 800 members. If all their sisters are as cheerful as the ones I met, I imagine they will get many more vocations. Thank you sisters, and thank you bishop, for your kind hospitality!

A peek inside the Synod Hall

We don't get Saturday off at the Synod, so our small group was hard at work as of 9 am this morning. The discussions are meant to be confidential, and I want to respect that, but I must say I am super impressed with the young adults who are part of our group. They are officially known as "auditors" (meaning "hearers") but they also have the chance to speak when recognized by the Moderator. Our Moderator is very open to giving everyone a chance to intervene, and I must say these young adults are proving to be articulate and insightful. I'm delighted they are with us.

During the break I thought I'd take a few photos of the inside of the Synod Hall, so you can we where (and how) we work. Here is the podium from which the Pope and other co-chairs lead the discussions:

These next photos show the three sections of seats where the Synod Fathers and other participants sit:

My seat is in the far left section, 8 rows up, 3 seats in from the aisle dividing the two sections. You can see the translation booths behind the windows in the upper left.

This is the far right section:

There are no windows on the upper portion, as it is actually used as a choir loft for our times of prayer. Behind it is a kind of viewing gallery for media and other observers who are not part of the Synod itself.

Here is the centre portion:

I took this one from behind the Pope's podium. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

We are seated according to an old tradition called "precedence". This means cardinals up front, with archbishops behind, followed by diocesan bishops, auxiliary bishops, and then priests. People who are not "synod fathers" sit behind those just mentioned. This is why I am 8 rows back -- as an auxiliary, I don't get to sit up front. This really isn't a hardship, mind you. Because I am further back, it is easier for me to get up and walk around, grab a drink of water, etc. The poor cardinals up front have to just sit and behave themselves.

And speaking of behaving themselves, because of the "precedence" thing the young adults who are "auditing" the synod are all sitting in a group up in the back of my section. They are awesome! They listen respectfully, but they clap and cheer and bring energy whenever a speech has particularly struck a chord. I enjoy getting up at breaks and chatting with them.

Speaking of speeches, those are done from where we sit. The wide armrests contain a microphone and sound controls:

In other words, when it is our turn to speak, we do not need to waste time getting up and going to a central podium. All can be done from our seat. There are also earpieces connected to the sound controls (not in the picture) which give access to simultaneous translation into English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Portuguese. It is a broad enough selection that everyone can understand what is being said while still being able to speak our own language.