Lucky sevens: Retired cardinal, now 77, reflects on retirement

Published: 2007-07-09

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- To the world, the number seven is lucky. In Catholic tradition, the number seven has been special since God created the world and rested on the seventh day, and the Catholic Church has seven sacraments and seven spiritual and corporal works of mercy. And to Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, the number seven is especially memorable, as he turned 77 on July 7, 2007 -- 77 on 7/7/07. "It's extraordinary," he said of the numerical coincidence marking his birthday. "I've been saying to people, 'Play that number!'" On a more serious note, he commented, "I'm grateful to God that I made it." Cardinal McCarrick marked his 30th anniversary as a bishop June 29. He was an auxiliary bishop of New York, and later served as the founding bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., and as the archbishop of Newark before being installed as Washington's archbishop in 2001 and retiring last year.

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