Masses of mourning or papal auditions?

Ahead of the conclave, there are many ways in which papal candidates can be surfaced, discussed and scrutinized. While many of the conclave-related conversations happen behind closed doors among the cardinals, aside from the occasional chatty cardinal willing — or perhaps encouraged — to engage the press, there are very few obvious or blatant maneuvers that can help shape the conclave results.

One, however, is the novendiali, the recently completed nine Masses, offered for as many consecutive days, in suffrage for the deceased pope. While each of the memorial Masses is intended for specific constituencies of Vatican and wider ecclesial life — to provide them and all of us another opportunity to pray for the soul of Pope Francis — it doesn’t go unnoticed that the novendiali also can be used to showcase the presiding cardinals — what is their “ars celebrandi,” or their manner of celebrating the Mass? What do they say about the past pontificate? What do they say about where the church should go next?

As we saw last week, each novendiali Mass is celebrated “for” a specific group of people, as outlined in the document governing papal funeral rituals, “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis.” These include employees and faithful of Vatican City State, the church of Rome, representatives from the four major papal basilicas, the Roman curia, the Eastern churches, men and women religious, and other officials.

While these groups are specified according to law, it is left to the camerlengo, who oversees the day-to-day management of the Holy See in the interregnum, and the dean of the College of Cardinals — at this conclave, Cardinals Kevin Farrell and Giovanni Battista Re, respectively — to choose and invite the celebrants.

In the case of the 2005 novendiali Masses, celebrated after the death of the St. John Paul II, the celebrants of the Masses indicated a pro forma approach to their selection. These included the archpriests from most of the four major basilicas of Rome, the senior-most cardinal priests and deacons, as well as members of the Roman Curia, representatives from Eastern churches and religious men and women.

Whether or not it’s meant to be so, the celebrants of the Masses find themselves in a kind of audition for the papacy. The same can be said for the presider and preacher at the funeral Mass of the late pontiff (presuming there is one) and the celebrant of the Mass for the Election of the Holy Roman Pontiff, which happens right before the conclave begins. The presider at each Mass has the opportunity to be seen and to be heard, and can take that opportunity and use it however he wishes.

In the case of the novendiali Masses following the death of Pope Francis, the choice of presiders — again, selected by Cardinals Re and Farrell — were all, save one, among the individuals added to the college by Pope Francis himself. Moreover, they were drawn — presumingly with great intentionality — from among the cardinals who are regarded as advocates for Pope Francis’ unique agenda. This is especially evident in the last-minute substitution that named Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, former prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and author of “Fiducia Supplicans,” the hugely controversial Vatican declaration allowing for the blessing of those in same-sex relationships, as a presider of the sixth novendiali Mass (for the Roman curia) in place of Cardinal Farrell.

Interestingly, several had little to no direct experience as pastors, particularly as diocesan bishops, such as Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Mauro Gambetti, Claudio Gugerotti, Ángel Fernández Artime or Dominique Mamberti, all of whom have been mostly involved in diplomatic service or other ministries in religious congregations.

For the most part, the homilies stressed allegiance to the pontificate of Francis and seemed to indicate the future of ecclesial life should explicitly be on the path he blazed. Similar to the funeral homily given by Cardinal Re April 26, there was a certain hagiographical quality to the sentiments expressed during the novendiali homilies.

Cardinal Parolin compared the grief of all mourning Pope Francis to the grief of the apostles after the death of Christ. Cardinal Victor Fernandez extensively quoted Pope Francis’ own words. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s basilica, and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, former prefect for the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, seemed to ignore the pain caused by some of the divisive liturgical sanctions that have come to define the pontificate for many. Gambetti drew attention to a widely quoted line from Francis: “Everyone, everyone, everyone is called to live in the Church — never forget that,” while Gugerotti heralded Francis as someone “who taught us to love the diversity and richness of human expression.”

Vicar of Rome Cardinal Baldassare Reina said that these days without a pope make us like “sheep without a shepherd” — a rather ultramontane statement, indeed. The homily by Cardinal Mamberti, former prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, struck a cord of unity, aimed at fostering communion and collegiality, quoting not just Pope Francis but also Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

The result is that, for better or worse, the novendiali Masses become something of a papal primary that can’t help but have an impact on the papal politics of a conclave — a real shame, as it takes away from the importance of the days of mourning and the focus on praying for the soul of the deceased pontiff, who of course needs our prayers especially when considering Christ’s admonition: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Lk 12:48).

Prudence dictates that it may be more fitting for the camerlengo and dean of the college of cardinals to select celebrants who either are not cardinals, who are ineligible to participate in the conclave due to age (over 80), or to choose celebrants at random by lottery, as happens for a variety of other roles needed in the interregnum. What’s certain is that those wielding power in these days should not be able to use official days of mourning to try to shape a conclave, especially if it’s true that the conclave is to be exercised in freedom and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

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