ROME — The cardinal electors who voted in the conclave were cut off from all forms of external communication for the duration of the two-day voting period. But once the conclave was over, they did not immediately fill up their Twitter account with reflections on their experiences or their wishes for the new pope.
Most likely the cardinals didn’t have too much time for that. Immediately after the Pope Francis was announced to the world in St. Peter’s Square, the cardinals joined one another for dinner, then many of them gave interviews or were part of press briefings.
Since then, they had Mass with the new pope and a meeting with him, so they have not had a lot of free time on their hands.
But some have found the chance to send a few messages to their Twitter followers after the few days of imposed silence.
South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier sent several tweets after the election of Pope Francis beginning with the March 14 message about the pope’s choice of name, quoting him: “I shall be called Francis, in memory of St Francis of Assisi!”
The cardinal described the pope’s name choice as “words that made a grown man cry with joy and wonder! More was to follow.”
He also sent the following tweets:
Surely man for the moment Pope Francis insisted on standing to greet & be greeted by his brother Cardinals. So doing he asked: Pray for me!—
Cardinal Napier (@CardinalNapier) March 15, 2013
Coming from Mass in Sistine Chapel, switched official car for bus carrying Cardinals. In morning slips into Chapel to pray without any fuss—
Cardinal Napier (@CardinalNapier) March 15, 2013
Last 2 days quite unreal. Mass with Pope Francis in Santa Martha Chapel, Breakfast, Lunch & Supper with him sitting at a different table!—
Cardinal Napier (@CardinalNapier) March 15, 2013
New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan resumed tweeting March 13, saying;
On this joyous day, we have a new Holy Father, Pope Francis I. With joy in our hearts, we declare “Ad Multos Annos!”
blog.archny.org/index.php/stat…—
Cardinal Dolan (@CardinalDolan) March 14, 2013
His other tweets the next day were short and sweet :
Pope Francis obviously won our hearts because he's the new pope.
nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Arc…—
Cardinal Dolan (@CardinalDolan) March 14, 2013
Viva il Papa Francesco! Let me share with you my latest blog post from Rome.
blog.archny.org/index.php/viva…—
Cardinal Dolan (@CardinalDolan) March 14, 2013
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles, also resumed tweeting March 13 with this message:
It happened! First time for a Pope from the southern hemisphere and from Latin America. I'm ecstatic! Pope Francis I will be a great gift!—
Cardinal Mahony (@CardinalMahony) March 13, 2013
His subsequent tweets revealed even more joy in the moment:
Don't you feel the new energy in the Church, and being shared with one another? We will experience a new Pentecost as the early Christians.—
Cardinal Mahony (@CardinalMahony) March 14, 2013
Mass with Pope Francis: moving from HIGH Church to LOW and humble Church! What a blessing that we are encountering Jesus without trappings!—
Cardinal Mahony (@CardinalMahony) March 15, 2013
Even though I don’t have a Tweeter account myself, I think it’s great that we all have access to our Cardinals of our holy church, so’s we can have a closer contact/relationship with them.
Yes, how time and technology have made an impact on this super high way of communication nowadays*
All for the good of the same – us people/children of GOD.
TO WORK AS ONE.+. IN HIS NAME.+.
JJ