Cardinal Tobin at the closing of the Holy Year of Mercy

By John Shaughnessy (Assistant Editor, The Criterion)

 

ST. PETER’S SQUARE AT THE VATICAN—Father Andy Syberg’s face glows as he shares how he felt concelebrating the Nov. 20 Mass that ended the Holy Year of Mercy with Pope Francis, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin and hundreds of priests from around the world.

“It was pretty overwhelming,” said Father Syberg, associate pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus, about the outdoor Mass at St. Peter’s Square that drew hundreds of thousands of people. “I’m sitting here in St. Peter’s, and there’s the pope, Cardinal Tobin, my brother priests and all these people celebrating mercy.”

 

(Click here for a related photo gallery)

 

Even more importantly, Father Syberg said, that celebration of mercy should lead people back to the source of all mercy.

 

“Even though there was the closing of the Holy Door of Mercy, the one thing we should be sure of is that God’s mercy is sufficient, it endures, and the calling of the Year of Mercy is something the world needed. Hopefully, it can springboard us into the future.”

Sunday’s Mass at St. Peter’s also had an emotional impact on Kimmie Hamilton, who came to Rome with her father and three of her adult siblings to witness Cardinal Tobin become one of the 17 new cardinals installed by Pope Francis on Nov. 19.

“Walking through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s on Saturday was such an incredible experience, knowing all the graces you receive, knowing you can help other people,” said Hamilton, a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Carmel, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese.

“It’s such a gift to come here with my dad and some of my siblings. Coming here as a family, especially knowing how important our Catholic faith is to our mom and dad and our family, is so special. The Catholic faith is based on so many traditions, and that’s one of the foundations of our family.”

Hamilton made this trip to Rome—her first—with her father, Jerry Semler, and three of her six siblings: Michael Semler of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis, Dori Dodson of St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis, and Jeffrey Semler of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

“To see the Holy Doors close, it was very moving,” said Jerry Semler, a member of St. Pius X Parish.

Semler wished that his wife of 56 years, Rosie, could have also made the trip, but a health issue didn’t make that possible. And their three other children had previous commitments. Still, it’s been a weekend to remember, especially considering that it included seeing his close friend, Cardinal Tobin, become a cardinal.

“We’ve just had a great relationship with Cardinal Tobin,” he said. “And to be here with four of our kids has been quite an experience for me.”

Father Jerry Byrd also seemed emotionally overwhelmed when he talked about the weekend’s events.

“I feel lucky to be here,” said Father Byrd, pastor of the parishes of St. Ann, St. Joseph and St. Mary in Jennings County. “I feel real proud of Cardinal Tobin—and honored to be part of the archdiocese—and to be a priest he inspired.

“To witness his elevation as a cardinal and to concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis, it’s all been very neat.”

See a photo gallery from today's Mass in Rome

Proclaim Christ the king of mercy, pope says at end of Holy Year

From our good friends at Catholic News Service:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Following Christ the King, whose regal power is love and mercy, means the whole church and each Christian must "follow his way of tangible love," Pope Francis said.

Celebrating the feast of Christ the King Nov. 20 and officially closing the extraordinary jubilee celebration of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis insisted, "we have received mercy in order to be merciful."

On a warm, late fall morning, St. Peter's Square was filled with an estimated 70,000 people for the Mass, which was concelebrated by the new cardinals Pope Francis had created the previous day.

The pope and the new cardinals first went to the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica and gave thanks for "the gifts of grace received" during the Holy Year. Pope Francis then went to the threshold of the Holy Door and pulled each side shut. The door will be sealed until the next Holy Year, which is likely to be 2025.

In his homily, Pope Francis said that even if the Holy Door is closed, "the true door of mercy, which is the heart of Christ, always remains open wide for us."

The power of Christ the King, he said, "is not power as defined by this world, but the love of God, a love capable of encountering and healing all things."

Like the "good thief" who turned to Jesus on the cross and was assured a place in heaven, anyone who turns to God with trust can be forgiven, the pope said. "He is ready to completely and forever cancel our sin, because his memory -- unlike our own -- does not record evil that has been done or keep score of injustices experienced."

Read the rest of the story here

Photos from the Mass for the Closing of the Holy Year of Mercy

Below is a photo gallery of a few images taken by Greg Otolski, our executive director for communications, of his view of today's Mass in St. Peter's Square which brought the Holy Year of Mercy to a close:

Click here to view the entire gallery

Who are the U.S. cardinals?

Below is a map we've created at The Criterion that shows the current U.S. cardinals, both active and retired. Click on it to see a larger version:

Voices from Columbus parish ring through St. Peter's

By John Shaughnessy (Assistant Editor, The Criterion)

The voices of the choir of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus soared inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican as they became one with the Sistine Chapel Choir during the consistory of cardinals on Nov. 19.

The St. Bartholomew Choir is so talented that the singing group performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2014. Yet even that opportunity didn’t match singing in St. Peter’s as Pope Francis installed 17 new cardinals, including Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin.

“This is a huge honor for everybody,” said Bogdan Minut, the director of music ministry at St. Bartholomew Parish. “Everyone is so excited. It’s a great joy for all of us.”

The choir actually received the invitation to sing at St. Peter’s Basilica near the beginning of 2016, when it was invited to join the Sistine Chapel Choir for the closing Mass of the Holy Year of Mercy on Nov. 20. Then they were asked to sing at the consistory of cardinals—an honor that led to even higher notes of joy for the choir when it was announced that Pope Francis had chosen Archbishop Tobin to become a cardinal.

“We were excited already, and to find this out just blew our minds,” Minut said. “He’s an extraordinary man, a wonderful pastor and a model of faith in action. It’s a great accomplishment to be named a cardinal. The fact that we know him personally is so good for our faith and our trust in the Lord. It’s a great opportunity to witness this in person.”

More photos from the Consistory

In case you didn't notice the link embedded in the longer story below, our assistant editor John Shaughnessy sent along many photos from today's Consistory that we've made into a gallery. Click below to see them.

Click here for the photo gallery

On an extraordinary day, an extraordinary man became a cardinal

By John Shaughnessy (Assistant Editor, The Criterion)
 

ROME—In an extraordinary moment like this one, the temptation is to focus just on the honor.

Sometimes, it’s especially tempting for the person receiving the honor.

Within minutes—at 11 a.m. Rome time on this Saturday, Nov. 19—Cardinal-designate Joseph W. Tobin will stand near the central altar at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. There, in a ceremony called a consistory, he will soon be installed by Pope Francis as one of 17 new cardinals in the Church. (Click here for a related photo gallery)

At 64, he will become the youngest of the 18 American-born cardinals.

He will also become one of the 120 cardinals from around the world who are eligible to vote, when the time comes in the future, to elect a new pope—or even become a new pope.

Let all of that sink in for a moment—the rareness, the possibility, the honor. Then listen to the answer that Cardinal-designate Tobin gave to a question he was asked on Oct. 10, the day after Pope Francis announced him as one of the new cardinals. Responding to the question, “In terms of your life, is this the most memorable moment?”, Cardinal-designate Tobin said:

“I would tend to say no. . .Becoming a cardinal, as much as I understand it, is an additional invitation to serve. I think there have been other moments in my life as a priest, as a Redemptorist, as a human being, that would supersede it. Perhaps this is a doorway to other great moments of service.”

He then shared a thought that was as unexpected as his selection as a cardinal was to him: “Perhaps yesterday’s news was an indication that God thinks I don’t love the Church enough. So he’s given me an even more profound way to love it more.”

Now consider this story from Loral Tansy, who has assisted Cardinal-designate Tobin the past four years when the archbishop has celebrated Masses across the Archdiocese of Indianapolis:  “I was with him on the Sunday he found out he was a cardinal. He was so shell-shocked. He said, ‘I am so not deserving of this.’ And I said, ‘That’s why you are deserving of this.’

“I believe he exemplifies the best virtues a cardinal should have—dedication, compassion. From the very soul of his being, he really cares about people.”

‘He understands the struggles’

His easy, sincere connection with people shines through in the moments before the beginning of the prayer service in which he will be installed as a cardinal. He heads into a section filled with family and friends, hugging them, reaching out to them, smiling with them.

When he walks to another section of the basilica, he flashes a smile of surprise when he recognizes a man he met long ago during the 20 years he served the Church in Rome. They embrace and laugh together, remembering the time that Cardinal-designate Tobin‘s car had a minor fender-bender with the other man’s car—Cardinal-designate Tobin smiling again as he admitted the accident was his fault, just as he did then.

During this time, he also asks a friend to take a photo of him and the other two Americans who will become cardinals today—Cardinal-designates Blasé J. Cupich and Kevin J. Farrell. And he searches for his 93-year-old mother, Marie Tobin, putting his arms around her when he finds her. And she beams for the oldest of her 13 children.

It’s also telling that 11 of his 12 siblings are here, the exception being a brother who has to undergo surgery and couldn’t make the trip. And numerous other family members—the Tobin clan—have made the journey. So has Duncan MacDonald, a friend since their grade-school days in Detroit. And there are about 20 priests from the Redemptorist order, the order he served as superior general from 1997 to 2009.

Then there is the strong contingent from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis—priests he has ordained, priests he has served with, priests he has come to view as brothers. The Indianapolis contingent also includes colleagues that he regards as friends, and members of the faithful that he has always viewed as extended family.

Surrounded by all parts of his extended family, he looks relaxed, joyful, at peace.

Greg Otolski takes in the entire scene. The director of communications for the archdiocese knows there’s also another important quality of Cardinal-designate Tobin’s approach to people: his compassion. It’s a compassion that Otolski believes has been shaped from Cardinal-designate Tobin’s background: he comes from a large family, his father died at a young age, his mother had to raise their children by herself, and he has served as a pastor “in some really poor areas” in Detroit and Chicago.

“He understands the struggles a lot of people go through just to make it to the end of the day,” Otolski says. “I think that’s what’s so important about him being a cardinal. 

The bond of blood

At 11 a.m., Pope Francis and the 17 new cardinals approach the central altar at St. Peter’s Basilica.

As Cardinal-designate Tobin sits by the altar waiting his turn to be installed by Pope Francis, less than 3 1/2 years have passed since the two men shared another special moment in this same basilica. On June 29, 2012, Cardinal-designate Tobin knelt in front of Pope Francis to receive his pallium—a circular band made from lamb’s wool that symbolized his role as the shepherd of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and his communion with the pope.

In becoming a cardinal, the connection between him and Pope Francis reaches an even deeper level for the two men who first became friends when they met during a meeting of the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2005.  That deeper bond is reflected in the cardinal’s red robe that Cardinal-designate Tobin already wears on this morning—the  color representing a cardinal’s desire to stay faithful to Christ, the people of God and the Church, even to the extent of shedding his blood for them.

It’s the kind of bond—being there for another person completely, putting the other person first—that has marked Cardinal-designate Tobin’s life.

It’s also the kind of bond that Pope Francis talks about in his homily during the prayer service, moments before installing the 17 new cardinals. Pope Francis refers to the Gospel as the “Sermon on the Plain,” a call that Christ gave the apostles.

“Instead of keeping the apostles at the top of the mountain, their being chosen leads them to the heart of the crowd.” Pope Francis says. “It sets them in the midst of those who are troubled, on the ‘plain’ of their daily lives.”

Pope Francis says it’s a call that all Christians must embrace, offering mercy and hope to everyone, even our enemies. At the end of his homily, he tells the newest cardinals waiting to be installed that they must lead this effort.

“My dear brothers, newly-created cardinals, the journey toward heaven begins in the plains, in a daily life broken and shared, spent and given—in the quiet daily gift of all that we are. Our mountaintop is this quality of love. Our goal and our inspiration is to strive, on life’s plain, together with the people of God, to become persons capable of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

An unbelievable moment

That call resounds in Cardinal-designate Tobin’s mind as he walks up the steps of the central altar of St. Peter’s to be greeted by Pope Francis—to be installed as a cardinal. In that moment, people throughout St. Peter’s strain for a closer look at their son, brother, friend and family member.

As he kneels before the pope, the pontiff embraces him in a long hug. Pope Francis then places the red biretta on now-Cardinal Tobin’s head, an exchange that the cardinal’s mother gets to see up-close from her seat on the right side of the basilica.

Pope Francis also gives him his cardinal’s ring, declaring, “Receive the ring from the hands of Peter and know your love for the Church is strengthened by the love of the Prince of the apostles.”

Walking down the steps of the altar, Cardinal Tobin moves toward the area where the other members of the College of Cardinals are waiting for him. One by one, he smiles and embraces them, receiving their smiles and embraces in return.

His mother savors every moment, every scene, describing it as “unbelievable.”
 

The extended Tobin family

As the prayers, wishes, smiles and tears flow toward and for newly-installed Cardinal Tobin, there’s also the memory of the telling words he shared in a conversation on the evening before he became a cardinal.

It was a conversation in which he talked about the importance of having his “extended family” here in Rome—all the people who have shared the journey of his life, all the people he has come to know and love, all the people who know and love him. Among that “extended family” he especially remembered the people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis—those who came to Rome and those who are back home.

“Election night helped me understand,” he said about this gift of extended family. “I saw Indiana governor-elect Eric Holcomb’s acceptance speech. What really struck me was he said, ‘All through the campaign, people said Holcomb can’t do this, and Holcomb can’t do that.’ He said, ‘They’re right, but we can.’ And that’s what this experience is, too.

“It’s the experience of being able to do things because it’s a we. It’s not an I. I feel and treasure as part of my family my extended family of Hoosiers who have accepted me. And it makes me think I can do this.”

He also talked about how the biggest struggle of the past six weeks has been his reassignment to the Archdiocese of Newark—and how he plans to confront that struggle.

“I was belly-aching one day to someone back in Indiana,” he said. “He listened and looked at me in great sympathy. And then he said, ‘What did you sign up for?’ I’ve thought about that. On the day of my profession, when I professed my vows, I gave it all. I really didn’t have that much to give as a 21-year-old. Now, it’s a little different. At the end of the day, I want to be true to what I vowed. So I say, ‘Okay, it’s all yours, even if it hurts.’ ”

Drew and Wilma Young of St. Mary Parish in Greensburg are part of that “extended family” from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis that has come to Rome to celebrate the man that has been their spiritual leader for the past four years.

They remember how he shared in the grief and sorrow of their community when four local people were killed in a small plane crash shortly after he became archbishop. They also recall the joy he shared when the parish dedicated its new church last August.

“I have the strongest positive feelings for him,” Drew Young says. “He’s kind. He’s honest. You know he has the love of God straight through him. You can’t help but believe him and trust him. He’s a real ambassador for God.” 

On an extraordinary day, an extraordinary man became a cardinal.

Catholic News Service Report

From Catholic News Service:

Pope calls new cardinals to be agents of unity in divided world

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church's 17 new cardinals must dedicate their lives to being ministers of forgiveness and reconciliation in a world -- and sometimes a church -- often marked by hostility and division, Pope Francis said.

Even Catholics are not immune from "the virus of polarization and animosity," the pope told the new cardinals, and "we need to take care lest such attitudes find a place in our hearts."

Creating 17 new cardinals from 14 nations Nov. 19, the pope said the College of Cardinals -- and the Catholic Church itself -- must be a sign for the world that differences of nationality, skin color, language and social class do not make people enemies, but brothers and sisters with different gifts to offer.

Three of the new cardinals created during the prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica were from the United States: Cardinals Blase J. Cupich of Chicago; Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the new Vatican office for laity, family and life; and Joseph W. Tobin, whom the pope asked to move from being archbishop of Indianapolis to archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.

Only 16 of the new cardinals were present for the ceremony. The Vatican said 87-year-old Cardinal Sebastian Koto Khoarai, the retired bishop of Mohale's Hoek, Lesotho, was created a cardinal although he was unable to travel to Rome.

After reciting the Creed and taking an oath of fidelity to Pope Francis and his successors, each cardinal went up to Pope Francis and knelt before him. The pope gave them each a cardinal's ring, a three-cornered red hat and a scroll attesting to their appointment as cardinals and containing their "titular church" in Rome. The assignment of a church is a sign they now are members of the clergy of the pope's diocese.

Read the entire story here

Photos from the Consistory

Greg Otolski, the executive director of communications for the archdiocese, has a number of great images from this morning's Consistory. Check them out below!

Click here to view the photo gallery

Pope Francis' Homily at the Consistory

Below is an excerpt from the homily by Pope Francis at today's Consistory:

Ours is an age of grave global problems and issues.  We live at a time in which polarization and exclusion are burgeoning and considered the only way to resolve conflicts.  We see, for example, how quickly those among us with the status of a stranger, an immigrant, or a refugee, become a threat, take on the status of an enemy.  An enemy because they come from a distant country or have different customs.  An enemy because of the colour of their skin, their language or their social class.  An enemy because they think differently or even have a different faith.  An enemy because…  And, without our realizing it, this way of thinking becomes part of the way we live and act.  Everything and everyone then begins to savour of animosity.  Little by little, our differences turn into symptoms of hostility, threats and violence.  How many wounds grow deeper due to this epidemic of animosity and violence, which leaves its mark on the flesh of many of the defenceless, because their voice is weak and silenced by this pathology of indifference!  How many situations of uncertainty and suffering are sown by this growing animosity between peoples, between us!  Yes, between us, within our communities, our priests, our meetings.  The virus of polarization and animosity permeates our way of thinking, feeling and acting.  We are not immune from this and we need to take care lest such attitudes find a place in our hearts, because this would be contrary to the richness and universality of the Church, which is tangibly evident in the College of Cardinals.  We come from distant lands; we have different traditions, skin colour, languages and social backgrounds; we think differently and we celebrate our faith in a variety of rites.  None of this makes us enemies; instead, it is one of our greatest riches.

Read the entire homily here

Screenshots from the live video coverage of the Consistory

Click on the photo or the link below to see a gallery of images taken directly from the live video feed of this mornings Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals:

View the full gallery here

How to watch the Consistory live

If you'd like to watch tomorrow's Consistory live, get your coffee ready now. The ceremony begins in Rome at 11 a.m., but that is 5 a.m. EST back in Indiana.

The best place to watch it will be at ETWN.com; a link to their live-streaming page is included below.

The Consistory Ceremony is where Archbishop Tobin will be officially named Cardinal Tobin; he will receive a red hat, a ring and a title to a church in Rome. (See our post here to learn more about what this ceremony entails).

Click here to watch the Consistory live at 5 a.m. on Saturday, November 19

A Few More Pictures from Today in Rome

Here are a few more pictures from today in Rome. As not much was happening officially, many more will be coming this weekend!

 Priests...

Family...

Handing out tickets...

And lastly, our assistant editor getting a moment to chat with the Cardinal-designate...

Joseph Tobin: A Great American Success Story—With a Twist

By John Shaughnessy (Assistant Editor, The Criterion)

ROME—This latest journey of Cardinal-designate Joseph W. Tobin to Italy can be viewed as a great American success story—with a twist.

After all, the focus of this story isn’t on power, wealth or fame. Rather, it’s on the foundation of faith, family and humility.

Start with the fact that he was a boy from Detroit who knew the challenges of the streets.

Add in the detail that he is the oldest of 13 children who grew up in a family that lived in one half of a duplex for all of his childhood and his youth.

Include the heartbreaking element that he lost his father—his role model—at a young age.

Yet instead of derailing his future, those realities and challenges helped to form the strong foundation of his life, leading now to a special moment when he will be elevated to one of the most honored positions in the Church.

That’s the Twitter account version of the life of Cardinal-designate Tobin who will be installed as a cardinal by Pope Francis on Nov. 19 at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  

During the 11 a.m. ceremony which is called a consistory, Cardinal-designate Tobin will be one of 17 new cardinals to receive his cardinal’s ring and a biretta—a four-cornered red hat—from Pope Francis. The pope will also give each new cardinal a scroll with the “title” to a church or parish in Rome, making him a special member of the clergy in Rome.

For Cardinal-designate Tobin, his selection initially led him to be shocked and humbled when Pope Francis announced the list of new cardinals on Oct. 9. At 64, Cardinal-designate Tobin will become the youngest of the 18 American-born cardinals.

His selection as a cardinal has also led more than 200 people—including his 93-year-old mother, a large group of family and friends, and a strong delegation of priests, colleagues and faithful from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis—to travel to Rome to be there for him at this special time.

They will also be there for the first Mass he celebrates as a cardinal. With Pope Francis and other cardinals, he will con-celebrate the 10 a.m. Mass on Nov. 20 in St. Peter’s Square, a liturgy that will close the Jubilee Year of Mercy that began on Dec. 8, 2015.

As he kneels during the Mass, Cardinal Tobin will likely think again of his father Joseph who died during a blizzard in 1977 when he suffered a heart attack after helping people stranded in the snowstorm: “He never once sent me to church. He took me with him. When I was kneeling next to him, I wanted to be like him.”

During the weekend, he will also undoubtedly dote on his mother, Marie Tobin, who still had children as young as 5 and 6 when her husband died. Her oldest child knows she has always believed that her husband has been with her through the years, helping her raise their children.

As Cardinal-designate Tobin has noted, “And when people say, ‘Mrs. Tobin, how wonderful!—13 children and they all went to college,’ her response is, ‘How wonderful!—13 children and they all practice their faith.’ ”

Cardinal-designate Tobin has also often humorously mentioned another bonus of growing up in his close-knit Irish family: “We learned to live with diversity because it’s hard to be selfish if you have one bathroom in the house and eight sisters.”

Diversity has been a defining element in his ministry since he was ordained as a Redemptorist priest in 1978. He is fluent in five languages—English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish—and he has traveled to more than 70 countries.

The former leader of the Redemptorist order also has a heart for immigrants and refugees. And when he is installed as the new archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark on Jan. 6, he will begin to oversee a four-county area of about 1.5 million Catholics where Mass is celebrated in 20 languages each Sunday.

He definitely has a heart for the people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. When he became the spiritual leader of the archdiocese in 2012, he viewed “Hoosier Hospitality” as a tourist slogan. After four years in the archdiocese, he has come to know it as a way of life that has connected him to the 225,000 Catholics—and many other people from different faiths—in the 39-county area.

Because he was reassigned to the Archdiocese of Newark before his installation as a cardinal, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis will have no historical claim to him as a cardinal. But there is no denying the emotional and spiritual bond that connects Cardinal-designate Tobin and the people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

On the day after Pope Francis announced him as one of the new cardinals, Cardinal-designate Tobin said, “What four years has done for me is that this wonderful Catholic community spread across 39 counties has gone from ‘the archdiocese’ to ‘my people.’ They have a claim on me, and I have a claim on them.”

The depth of that relationship was apparent when he learned he was being reassigned to the Archdiocese of Newark. His emotions filled a letter that he wrote to the people of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, sharing his shock and sadness. The letter included this passage, “I immediately thought of you, the people of this great Archdiocese whose pastoral care was entrusted to me four years ago. I remembered how you welcomed me, offered your support in so many ways, forgave my mistakes and limitations, and always assured me of your love and the precious backing of your prayer. The thought of leaving you devastated me.”

The thought of his elevation as a cardinal—and then the announcement of his reassignment to Newark—have led people in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to often include the word “bittersweet” in describing their reaction to those two pieces of stunning news. That feeling still lingers at the beginning of the weekend of Nov. 19-20, but the joy and pride for Cardinal-designate Tobin also swells as his date to become a cardinal is now less than a day away.

“I’m very excited he has been named a cardinal,” said Annette “Mickey Lentz, chancellor of the archdiocese. “I feel in his heart he will make us proud, no matter where he is, no matter where we are.”

John and Julie Morand of St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis also came to Rome, nearly 3 1/2 years after they joined Cardinal-designate Tobin on an archdiocesan pilgrimage to Italy in the summer of 2012.

“We’re happy for him,” John Morand said. “He’s a holy man. He has a presence about him. When he’s talking to you, he’s focused on you. You can feel that in a good way.”

Carolyn Noone became emotional when she talked about this special weekend that marks the latest chapter in this Catholic-American success story.

“He has become like a family member to all of us, and he’s done good, so we can send him on to become a cardinal,” said Noone, the director of special events for the archdiocese. “We’re so proud of him because he’s one of us. He can leave Indianapolis and go to Newark, but he’ll always be in our hearts.”

It’s the deep emotion that pours out for a cardinal who has built his life on the foundation of faith, family and humility.