CARDINAL PELL: THE FMA CONNECTION
ROME: 23rd October -- It is well known that at least one Salesian was amongst the list of Cardinals formally invested with the trappings of office these past two days, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone. We say 'at least' because of the one 'in pectore' which, of its nature, is unknown, so no prizes given for guessing, though pundits believe it would be in a situation where an announcement could cause political difficulties.
It may be a less-known fact that the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, has been assigned 'his' church in Rome, none other than the Parish church of St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello.
Each new Cardinal is assigned a parish in the Diocese of Rome. It then behoves him not only to maintain contact with said church but likewise to assist in its upkeep. That should not provide George Cardinal Pell with too much of a problem - the Parish church of St. Maria D. Mazzarello is a new Church relatively speaking for Roman churches. It was consecrated in 1982 in Cinecitta' East, not too far from the already existing parish of St. John Bosco. This has been a fast-growing area in 'new' Rome and the parish was carved out of the two existing nearby parishes of St. John Bosco and St. Bonaventure. In fact, it is not presently administered by priests from the Roman Archdiocese but by priests from Lodi, in Lombardy. It is common for Italian dioceses to maintain a parish in Rome to facilitate the training of their clergy in that city.
