The Pope's Saturday

Contrary to the American ethos, Saturday's still a very busy workday at the Vatican. Many curialists report to the office and the flow of appointments and paper-moving keeps up at its usual weekday pace.

The Pope's always a hot ticket, but today it was especially so. King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium were received in audience -- isn't it a little hot for the winter mozzetta? -- as were Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and, notably, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, the recently-dispatched nuncio to Cairo whose removal from the presidency of the Council for Interreligious Dialogue created a media saga which continues even until the present.

One thing to keep an eye out for -- it's usually released by now, but hasn't been of yet -- is Benedict XVI's first Holy Thursday letter to the world's priests. That should have some interesting things in it. Look for a publish and press conference sometime late in the week.

And don't forget the Vatican's first papal penance service in ten days' time....


PHOTO: Reuters/L'Osservatore

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