Monday, August 29, 2011

"This is not a retirement appointment": Baltimore's O'Brien to Rome

The Bolletino of the Holy See announced today the appointment of Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore to succeed Cardinal John Patrick Foley as Grand Master of the influential and worldwide Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, text of the release following.

The obvious conclusion of a Roman retirement that some might draw from news of this appointment was quickly forestalled in remarks by the appointee himself as reported in a story on this in Whispers in the Loggia. Someone has pointed out an unusual aspect of this appointment in that, until now, Archbishops of the primatial See city have always retired in place.

Cardinals who retire in Rome under normal circumstances retain the privilege of enviable Roman accommodations, sometimes in the apartments with a bird's-eye-view of Saint Peter's Square that sit atop the buildings lining the Via della Conciliazione.

Best wishes for fair winds and following seas, along with most heart-felt congratulations, to a remarkably humble, kind and gentle man who navigated sometimes difficult waters while faithfully sheperding the flock of God on these shores and around the world.

((((..))))

Text of the release:

RINUNCIA DEL GRAN MAESTRO DELL'ORDINE EQUESTRE DEL SANTO SEPOLCRO DI GERUSALEMME E NOMINA DEL PRO-GRAN MAESTRO DEL MEDESIMO ORDINE EQUESTRE
Il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ha accolto la rinunzia presentata dall’Em.mo Signor Cardinale John Patrick Foley all’incarico di Gran Maestro dell'Ordine Equestre del Santo Sepolcro di Gerusalemme ed ha nominato Pro-Gran Maestro del medesimo Ordine Equestre S.E. Mons. Edwin Frederick O'Brien, finora Arcivescovo di Baltimore.

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