VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
Sean O’Malley is not only the lone American on the Council of Cardinals, but he’s also the lone Franciscan
JOHN L. ALLEN JR.*
Pope Francis made a historic visit to Assisi on Oct. 4, in part to meet the Franciscans responsible for keeping alive the spiritual legacy of his namesake. Yet it may actually have been a Franciscan the pontiff brought with him who has the greatest imprint on his papacy.
The pope was flanked throughout the day by eight prelates who make up his “Council of Cardinals,” recently formalized by a chirograph as the pope’s most important sounding board, who had just wrapped up three days of intense discussions on a wide variety of possible reforms – reorganization of the Roman Curia, changes in the Synod of Bishops, the role of the laity in the church and the Vatican, and the pastoral care of marriage.
One of those eight clearly stood out, especially in Assisi: Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, who wore his brown Capuchin habit throughout the day rather than the crimson-lined black cassock typically associated with Princes of the Church.
Visually, it was a reminder that O’Malley is not only the lone American on the Council of Cardinals, but he’s also the lone Franciscan – and for a pope named Francis, that’s no small matter in terms of the extent to which O’Malley has the pontiff’s ear.
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