LIB'S LABYRINTH: Habemus Papam Pope Francis

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Habemus Papam Pope Francis

A VATICAN REFORMER: A POPE FOR THE 2Ist CENTURY, HIS PATH IS GUIDED IN THE IMITATION OF JESUS CHRIST WHO FOUNDED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO.

______________________________________________________

COME HOLY SPIRIT, CREATOR BLEST. THE HOLY SPIRITS MOVE THEM ALL. THEY ARE THE CARDINALS, THE MODERN DAY PRE-EMINENT APOSTLES AND SUCCESSORS TO THE BARK OF ST. PETER - THE FIRST POPE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WHOSE FOUNDER WAS JESUS. Cardinals are bishops and Vatican officials from all over the Catholic world. Due to the unexpected retirement of Pope Benedict XV which was never been done in 600 years there was a vacancy in the papacy. A papal election, called a conclave, literally means under lock and key, and the cardinals known as cardinal electors gathered in St. Peter's Basilica to vote in secrecy for electing a new pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in a conclave and their number is limited to 120.

St. Peter's Square

Swiss Guard wearing Michaelangelo's fashion

Cardinals per region: Europe (61), Africa (11), Asia (12), North America (14), and South America (19)

The cardinal electors process to the Sistine Chapel, the centuries-old chapel adorned with Michaelangelo's frescoes that has been the site of every papal election since 1878. They take an oath of absolute secrecy before sealing the door. The cardinals vote one by one, saying a prayer and dropping the twice-folded ballot in a large chalice. There's too much intrigue. Four rounds of balloting are taken every day until a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote. The dean of the College of Cardinals asks the cardinal who got the two-thirds vote if he accepts. If he accepts, he chooses a papal name, same as nuns who change their names and choose the name of a saint, and is dressed in papal vestments before processing out to the balcony. The ballots of the final round are burned with chemical producing white smoke to signal to the world the election of a new pope. It's the ultimate religious "reality show."

White smoke came out of the Sistine's chimney at around 7:00 pm, March 13, 2013 Wednesday, balloting was successful. If balloting is not successful the smoke burns black.

The senior cardinal deacon, currently French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, announces from the balcony of St. Peter's "Habemus Papam" (We have a pope") before the new pope processes out and gives his blessing on the city of Rome and the entire world.

THE NEW PONTIFF, POPE FRANCIS I, formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio - Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The Last Tango Priest of Argentina. Buona sera!

LIST OF POPES

Referred to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List-of-popes

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 29, 2013 Pope Francis's Wednesday Blessing at St. Peter's Square

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

July 5, 2013 Pope Francis' First Encyclical "The Light of Faith" (Lumen Fidei) released by Vatican

Main Points:

Christian faith is the guiding light of a "successful and fruitful life," illuminating "every aspect of human existence."
The opposite of faith is idolatry, according to which man worships the "multiplicity of his desires."
Salvation is impossible through our own good works but requires faith, as acknowledgement of the "primacy of God's gift."
By virtue of his humanity, Jesus Christ is not only the object of faith but the ultimate model and mediator for all believers, and faith is a "participation in (Jesus') way of seeing."
Faith is not individualistic but by its very nature takes place within the communion of the church.
The unity and continuity of the faith are ensured by the apostolic succession, hence the pope and the bishops in communion with him stand as its authoritative teacher.
The fullness of faith is transmitted above all through the sacraments, which "communicate an incarnate memory, linked to the times and places of our lives, linked to all our senses; in them the whole person is engaged as a member of a living object and part of a network of communitarian relationships."
Faith offers access to truth through love, since love is a "form of shared knowledge, vision through the eyes of another and a shared vision of all that exists."
Faith dispels philosophical relativism and encourage scientific research by affirming the "inherent order" and harmony of the material world, and "stimulating wonder before the profound mystery of creation."
Faith is essential to the promotion of "justice, law and peace" because it reveals the true basis of men's brotherhood as children of God.