Cardinal Dolan writes book on Pope Francis’ election

July 10, 2013

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has written an e-book on the election of Pope Francis.

In the introduction to Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis, Cardinal Dolan recalls how he heard about Pope Benedict’s resignation:

That particular morning I was reading Pope Benedict XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth. It’s the first of three volumes on the life of Christ. Have to admit, I didn’t read it when it first came out, but since we were leading up to Lent, I thought it’d be a good selection to carry me through until Easter …

That’s where I was when my phone rang. When I saw on the caller ID that it was Joe Zwilling, the communications director for the archdiocese, I knew something important must have been up.

“Sorry to disturb you,” he said, “but I thought you should know there are rumors that Pope Benedict has just announced his resignation.

We both had a chuckle, agreed that the news was highly improbable, and I told him, “Go get a Bloody Mary and go back to bed.” I returned to my prayers. He called about five minutes later and said, “It’s been confirmed. The Holy Father has resigned.” To which I could only say to myself, “OK, Dolan, better get going. This is going to be a big day.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Cardinal Dolan Shares Conclave Experience in E-Book (Zenit)
• Introduction to book (Scribd)