“The week after Pope Benedict’s surprise resignation, I began writing ‘Papabile Profiles’ for Aleteia. I did my research and learned everything I could about the world’s leading cardinals.
“What a stunning array of talent had risen to the top of the Church! From a dynamic young cardinal from the Philippines to a multi-talented Canadian polyglot; from a convert from pagan Africa to the rollicking and rubicund cardinal from New York City. A vast range of ability, experience, and colorful personalities paraded in their red robes for me to dissect and display to the world. But there was one I didn’t mention – the cardinal from Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
“Bergoglio was in the list of Cardinals, but nobody was talking about him. At 76, he was thought to be too old. His moment was past, having lost out to Ratzinger in 2005. He was not an expert linguist, now was he well-travelled. He had intentionally avoided getting more experience in the Curia. He wasn’t an expert liturgist or theologian. He was a Jesuit; an outsider. He was from the other side of the globe. He was unknown.
“Yet on March 13, 2013, he stood at the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, offering the world nothing more than a placid smile and a grandfatherly wave. My own first impression was bewilderment. Why didn’t he say something? Then he spoke in gentle Italian, wishing everyone a ‘buona sera,’ asking them to pray for him and then giving them his blessing.
“The surprises had begun. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first American Pope, and the first Pope to take the name of the great saint Francis. The God of surprises had given us a Pope of surprises.”
In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Greenville, SC) reflected on why anyone who is trying to understand him should open the Gospels and read them straight through.
To access Fr. Longenecker’s complete post, please visit:
aleteia: The Pope of Surprises (13 MAR 14)
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