A very significant Consistory for the Order

Among the 20 new cardinals, several are members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. They are: His Eminence Fortunato Frezza, Master of Ceremonies of the Grand Magisterium of the Order, ordained a bishop in St. Peter’s Basilica on July 23; His Eminence Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; His Eminence Robert Walter McElroy, Bishop of San Diego; His Eminence Oscar Cantoni, Bishop of Como; and His Eminence Arrigo Miglio, Archbishop Emeritus of Cagliari.

On the afternoon of August 27, a delegation of about 150 Knights and Dames gathered at Palazzo della Rovere, led by the Governor General, before departing in procession to St. Peter’s Basilica to attend the Consistory celebration during which the Master of Ceremonies of the Grand Magisterium, His Eminence Fortunato Frezza, was created Cardinal.

The new Cardinal sent a message of thanks to the Knights and Dames gathered in Rome that day, saying in particular: “My [receiving] the scarlet red is only an occasion of our sense of communion with each other, with the Pope, for the Church of the risen Lord Jesus, whom we love to worship at his empty tomb”. During the Consistory celebration, the Holy Father insisted on the “fire that Jesus came to ‘cast upon the earth’, and that the Holy Spirit also kindles in the hearts, hands and feet of those who follow him, the fire of Jesus, the fire that Jesus brings.” “Dear brother Cardinals, by the light and in the strength of this fire walk the holy and faithful people from whom we were taken – we, taken from the people of God – and to whom we have been sent as ministers of Christ the Lord,” he said, encouraging them to love the Church “always with that same spiritual fire, whether dealing with great questions or handling everyday problems, with the powerful of this world – which he often has to do –,or those ordinary people who are great in God’s eyes.”

During the courtesy visits in the Hall of Blessings of the Apostolic Palace, the Lieutenant General, the Governor General, the Vice-Governors for North America, Europe and Latin America, as well as members of the Grand Magisterium, numerous Lieutenants and many members of the Order, surrounded His Eminence Cardinal Frezza, assuring him of their communion in thanksgiving, before moving on to warmly congratulate the other four Cardinal members of the Order.