Pope Francis

It is with great joy that people in Kerala received the news of the election of the new Holy Father. Many were watching TV late into  the night , hoping to hear something  about the election of the new Holy Father. It was a great surprise when we heard the name of the Holy Father.No one has mentioned  that name before and the media were focusing on other Cardinals.All of a sudden all the tidbits of the news dripping though the media about the Holy Father made him very much loved by the people. What  struck everyone was his down  to earth attitude to everything in life--his humility,simplicity,smile, affability etc.
I remember  the day when Joh Paul l was elected.  I was talking to some  students at the Catholic University campus.Then, one of the students came and told me about the election of the new Pope and he was thrilled to see the Pope smiling so beautifully when he was greeting people.The words the student said still remain in my mind: He said  "I was thrilled form head to toe when I saw the Pope smile."
we have moved a lot from those times.With John Paul ll , the contact with people became an inherent part of the Papal style.H would greet ,hug, smile and laugh and all those human gestures made him part of the lives of the people he met in his life.
Pope Francis is following in his footsteps but with a much deeper way of involvement.Pope Francis has already lived the style of being close to the people while he was a Cardinal.It becomes much easier for him to adopt the style that would bring him close to people.

Meeting with Cardinal O'Malley,2007

 Cardinal is being spoken about as one of the most probable candidates to be elected as the next Pope.
 The following is  a report of my meeting with Cardinal Sean O'Malley who is  now the Archbishop of Boston.
 I visited him on Nov.9,2007 . It was the first time I met him after I left Washington D.C. in 1981.We were working together at St.Matthew's Cathedral and the Cardinal was then a young priest working as the Chaplain for the Spanish Catholics of  Washington D.C. I had the special joy of welcoming the Cardinal on behalf of the Diocese  of Chicago as well as for the Syro-Malabar community of Boston when he came to preside over the St.Thomas  Day celebrations. He was the main celebrant at the mass and gave a beautiful homily,highlighting  the role of St.Thomas Christians  in India.
People of Washington D.C had  a great affection for him because of his sympathy, affability and and a very low-keyed approach. He was accessible to all and he took care of the poor and the marginalized in the society. At that time, the Spanish Catholics were not organized as they are now.He was also very humble in his external appearance , wearing always his Franciscan habit and sandals.When I left Washington after my studies in I981, he was continuing his ministry  as the Chaplain.Later I learned that he was appointed by the Holy See as the first Bishop of Virgin islands.From there, he came to Falls River Diocese and then  to the Diocese of  Palm Beach and finally to Boston.The  New York Times and many other secular papers ran great stories about the Cardinal  when he was appointed as the Archbishop of Boston.When I met him , he was residing at the rectory of the Cathedral , after having sold the imposing Chancery to pay compensation to the victims of abuse.
Later when I attneded a confernce of Vicars General and Vicars of priests at the Lake Mundelein Seminary,Chicago , I  was sitting close to a black priest. He turned to me and asked whether I was Fr.George and whether I had worked at St.Matthew's. He then told me that he was working then as a receptionist at St.Matthews. After I left D.C. Fr.O'Malley invited him to the Virgin islands and there he went to study for priesthood and  was ordained by Bp.O'Malley.Now he is a Monsignor and the Vicar General of the Virgin Islands.
(The following are the words of Cardinal Sean O'Malley in his blog,Cardinal Sean's Blog 2007,Nov.09)

On Tuesday, I met with Father George Madathiparampil, a long time friend who was studying for a doctorate at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and working as an associate pastor at St. Matthew Cathedral during 1970′s, when I was stationed in Washington.

Fr. George, vicar general of Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago (which has oversight of all the Syro-Malabar parishes in the United States and Canada) is in Boston for a retreat for the Malayalam-speaking community of New England.

The Syro-Malabar Community in New England area celebrates Sunday Mass each week at Fernald Center Chapel in Waltham.