And they're off

At 1:00pm today in Rome, after the Cardinals had concluded the first General Congregation, the Director of the Vatican Press Office, Father Frederico Lombardi, SJ held a briefing for the benefit of the accredited journalists.  Also in attendance at this briefing were Father Lombardi's two assistants, who have been 'retained' by the Vatican Press Office in order to assist with the task of keeping journalists abreast of the developments taking place in the Vatican.  These two assistants are Father Thomas Rosica, CSB (who is assisting with English- and French-language media), and Monsignor José Maria Gil Tamayo (who is assisting with Spanish-language media).

Father Lombardi informed the journalists that the first General Congregation of the College of Cardinals began at 9:30am this morning in the new Synod Hall.  Presiding over the meeting, at the head table, were Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals; accompanied by the Cardinal Camerlengo Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., and the Secretary of the College of Cardinals, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri.

The members of the College took their seats in the room following the hierarchical order of precedence (Order of Cardinal-bishops, Order of Cardinal-priests, and Order of Cardinal-deacons).  Note should be taken of the fact that when the Holy Father creates Cardinals (during a Consistory), he assigns each Cardinal to the rank of Cardinal-bishop, Cardinal-priest or Cardinal-deacon.

After the opening prayers (the Veni Sancte Spiritus and the Adsumus) and the technical instructions regarding the count of those present and the voting process, the Cardinal Dean took the floor to greet those gathered, noting the great importance of this event before the Church and the world.

The prayer Adsumus was recited at the beginning of every session of the Second Vatican Council.  It has also historically been used at Councils, Synods and other Church gatherings for hundreds of years.  Its words are attributed to Saint Isadore of Seville (560-636).  The text of the prayer reads as follows:

Here we are, O Lord, Holy Spirit, we stand before you, hampered by our faults, but for a special purpose gathered together in your name. Come to us and be with us and enter our hearts.  Teach us what we are to do and where we ought to tend; show us what we must accomplish, so that, with your help, we may be able to please you in all things. May you alone be the beginning and catalyst of our judgments, who alone with God the Father and his Son possess a glorious name. Do not allow us to disturb the order of justice, you who love equity above all things. Let not ignorance draw us to what is wrong. Let not partiality sway our minds or respect of riches or persons pervert our judgment. But unite us to you effectually by the gift of your grace alone, that we may be one in you and never forsake the truth; inasmuch as we are gathered together in your name, so may we in all things hold fast to justice tempered by mercy, so that in this life our judgment may in no way be at variance with you, and in the life to come we may receie an everlasting rewards for deeds well done. Amen.

The oath was then sworn in the manner prescribed in No. 12 of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis:  

... the Cardinals present are to swear an oath to observe the prescriptions contained herein and to maintain secrecy. This oath, which shall also be taken by Cardinals who arrive late and subsequently take part in these Congregations, is to be read aloud by the Cardinal Dean or by whoever else presides over the College ... in the presence of the other Cardinals and according to the following formula:

We, the Cardinals of Holy Roman Church, of the Order of Bishops, of Priests and of Deacons, promise, pledge and swear, as a body and individually, to observe exactly and faithfully all the norms contained in the Apostolic Constitution  Universi Dominici Gregis of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, and to maintain rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff or those which, by their very nature, during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, call for the same secrecy.

Next, each Cardinal shall add: And I, N. Cardinal N., so promise, pledge and swear. And, placing his hand on the Gospels, he will add: So help me God and these Holy Gospels which I now touch with my hand.

The common formula of the oath was read aloud by the Dean of the College of Cardinals in Latin. Then, each of the cardinals, according to the order of precedence, advanced to personally swear the oath before the Crucifix and with one of their hands upon the Gospels. The oath-taking process took up a good portion of the morning meeting.

The 142 cardinals present, of which 103 were Cardinal electors, took the oath.

While the See of Rome is vacant, there are two kinds of Congregations of the Cardinals: General Congregations, which include the whole College and are held before the beginning of the election, and Particular Congregations. All the Cardinals who are not legitimately impeded must attend the General Congregations, once they have been informed of the vacancy of the Apostolic See. Cardinals who have already reached their 80th birthday as of the day when the See of Rome becomes vacant, and who therefore do not enjoy the right of electing the Pope are granted the faculty of not attending these General Congregations, should they prefer.

The Particular Congregation is made up of the Cardinal Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church and three Cardinals, one from each Order, chosen by lot from among the Cardinal electors already present in Rome. The office of these Cardinals, called Assistants, ceases at the conclusion of the third full day, and their place is taken by others, also chosen by lot and having the same term of office, also after the election has begun. (UDG, 7)

The Particular Congregation was established this morning with the drawing by lots of the three assistants to the Cardinal Camerlengo. The three cardinals picked were: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re (Order of Bishops); Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe (Order of Priests), and; Cardinal Franc Rodé (Order of Deacons).
 

Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM

It was expected that Fr. Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, would hold the first of the meditations provided for by the Apostolic Constitution this afternoon.

The Cardinal Dean's proposal to send a message of greeting and gratitude to His Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope emeritus,was approved.

During the course of this morning's Congregation there was a break of about half an hour between 11:15am and 11:45am.

In the last part of the Congregation, 13 Cardinals addressed the gathering freely, mainly regarding questions on the process of the proceedings and the questions to be faced, also bearing in mind the results of the latest Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

The Second General Congregations was called for this afternoon from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.  It is expected that a report about the activities accomplished during this second meeting will be reported tomorrow.