FRIDAY POTPURRI: AT LEAST I NEVER FORGET A FACE

During St. Sebastian Choir’s trip to Rome we sang a Mass in the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter. I was sent into a sacristy as big as St. Sebastian Parish with a sacristan and two little altar boys whose English consisted of smiling and nodding whilst everyone else went their separate ways. The main celebrant for the Mass was to be Angelo Cardinal Comastri, the archpriest of the basilica. I was rather nervous as you might imagine and wanted to make sure that I got his name correct and so was practicing it as I paced the room.

Interestingly enough when one addresses a cardinal such as in a formal introduction and using his full name, the title cardinal does not come at the beginning of the name as it would with a priest’s title such as in Father John Valencheck. Rather, it comes just before his family name. So it would be Angelo Cardinal Comastri. This is for reasons entirely lost to me. If you know why I would appreciate knowing.

A formal introduction would go like this (assuming that the cardinal was the highest ranking person etiquette wise in the introduction), “Your Eminence, may I introduce to you Fr. John Valencheck. Father Valencheck, this is His Eminence Angelo Cardinal Comastri.”

Of course if that is all way too intimidating or if you are so nervous that names start slipping out of your head, you could skip the remembering the name thing and simply say, “You Eminence” unless and until invited to do otherwise (and then only in private.)