ROME
Boston Globe
By Lisa Wangsness
| Globe Staff
March 05, 2013
ROME — A reporter had a question for Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley that she said came from her daughter. Would the leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston continue to wear his “cappuccino robe” if elected pope, the reporter asked at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
O’Malley, blushing, chuckled along with the reporters gathered at the Pontifical North American College, where the US cardinals are staying before the conclave to select a new leader of the church.
“I have worn this uniform for over 40 years, and I presume I will wear it until I die, because I don’t expect to be elected pope,” he said. He stammered slightly. “So — I don’t expect to have a change of wardrobe.”
O’Malley, a Capuchin friar whose order’s name derives from the brown hooded habits its members wear, has been deflecting a lot of questions lately about the possibility he could replace Benedict XVI, whose retirement last month triggered the meeting of cardinals. Most Vatican analysts consider the notion of an American pope a long shot, but some say that O’Malley’s chances could improve if no consensus emerges after a few days of voting.
O’Malley answered questions from the press for about 30 minutes with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston. O’Malley, who holds a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese literature, answered two questions in Spanish during the session and then addressed a scrum of Spanish-language media afterward.
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