ROME
USCCB Blog
By Sister Mary Ann Walsh
The conclave opens Tuesday, March 12, with the Conclave Mass Tuesday morning. The General Congregation voted on this during their afternoon session today.
Snow in the U.S. has delayed some media. WUSA, Channel 9 in Washington, was delayed by snow and expects to arrive tomorrow. Media are searching for photo ops, even asking if any cardinal will offer Mass at his titular church on Sunday. All cardinals have a titular church. That makes them clergy of the Diocese of Rome, which entitles them to vote for the pope, who is the Bishop of Rome.
We’ve scheduled a briefing tomorrow at 11 a.m., Rome time, with Archbishop Piero Marini and Msgr. Kevin Irwin. The briefing will focus on liturgical rites related to the conclave. Msgr. Marini, who was head of papal liturgical ceremonies during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, knows this area thoroughly and literally wrote the book on it. Msgr. Irwin, of the faculty of The Catholic University of America, is a professor of liturgical studies. Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who will offer commentary for ABC-TV during the Conclave, stopped by the office this morning. We invited him to come to the briefing, if only to be in the audience. He also is a liturgy expert. Depending on the schedule of the conclave, we hope to pursue other briefings.
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