The technology didn’t work perfectly, but a group of Our Lady of Lourdes high school students still got a thrill Tuesday when they were able to speak with Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins shortly after the installation in Rome of the new Pope.
About 60 Grade 10 history students of Lourdes history teacher Joe Tersigni gathered in the school’s library for what was supposed to be a conversation via Skype with Collins. A Guelph native who was named a cardinal in early 2012, Collins was among the cardinals from all over the world who elected the new Pope last week at the Vatican.
Collins appeared on a large screen as a dark silhouette in front of a colourful and historic scene that he’d chosen as a backdrop – the towering cylindrical building known as the Castel Sant’Angelo, where, centuries ago, he said, popes took refuge “when the Vatican was being attacked.”
The audio quickly broke up on the Skype connection, so Collins and the students reverted to a cellphone connection. The cellphone was on speaker-phone mode in the library so all the students could hear. Collins could be seen in silhouette holding the phone to his ear.
The 20-minute event started at 10:30 a.m. local time, which in Rome was five hours later. Shortly before, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who has taken the name of Pope Francis I, had officially begun his ministry as the 266th pope by giving an installation mass.
Eight Lourdes students had been designated to ask questions of Collins. These included queries about the new Pope’s “distinctive style” and about the process of choosing popes being viewed by many as “secretive.”
The tech-loving Collins was also asked how he felt after having to give up his BlackBerry before entering the Sistine Chapel to participate in the election of a new pope. He said it wasn’t easy, but “it helps you concentrate.”
Asked if he thought Pope Francis 1 would turn out to be a great pope, Collins said he believed “all popes are great in different ways.” The new Pope, he said, is clearly “a really loving pastor.”
Asked how the new Pope will deal with controversies facing the church, Collins replied that he thinks “God will take care of them one at a time.”
“We are frail sinners and we will always have controversies,” he added.