Boston cardinal takes possession of titular church in Rome

Published: 2006-10-02

ROME (CNS) -- Taking symbolic possession of a Rome church that attracts tourists on "Angels and Demons" tours, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston said visitors should discover something deeper -- the church's connection to two female saints. Cardinal O'Malley celebrated Mass Oct. 1 at the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which he was assigned last March when he was made a cardinal. All cardinals are given titular churches in Rome, to underline their ties with the Diocese of Rome and the ministry of the pope. The baroque church is where a particularly grisly scene unfolds in Dan Brown's fictional best-seller, "Angels and Demons." The book's popularity has prompted a huge increase in visitors. In his sermon, Cardinal O'Malley focused instead on the church's connection with St. Teresa of Avila, whose likeness Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpted for a chapel of the church, and in particular with St. Therese of Lisieux, known as the "Little Flower of Jesus," who prayed in the church as a young woman.

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