Movers and Shakers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Seán Patrick O'Malley

Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley - Archbishop of Boston; Member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; Founded Centro Catolico Hispano; SMOM Honorary Chaplain

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His Eminence Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley, OFM Cap, Ph.D (born June 29, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the Archbishop of Boston, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2006. O'Malley is also a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, more commonly known as the Capuchins. Early life Seán Patrick O'Malley was born as Patrick O'Malley in Lakewood, Ohio, the son of Theodore and Mary Louise (née Reidy) O'Malley. O'Malley, his sister, and his older brother grew up in Herman, Pennsylvania. At age 12, he entered St. Fidelis Minor Seminary, a boarding school for students considering joining the Franciscan order, in Butler, Pennsylvania. While there, in addition to studying the normal high school subjects, he also studied Spanish, Greek, German, and Hebrew, and he was active in theater. On July 14, 1965, at the age of 21, O'Malley professed his vows in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and took the name Seán in honor of St. John the Apostle. After he was ordained Deacon he spent a brief period in Easter Island, Chile. He was ordained a priest on August 29, 1970, at age 26, by Bishop John McDowell, an auxiliary of Pittsburgh. After graduating from St. Fidelis, he attended Capuchin College in Washington, D.C. and The Catholic University of America, where he is now a member of the Board of Trustees. He graduated from CUA with a master's degree in religious education and a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese literature. He once said of his alma mater, "I have a great affection for Catholic University. I studied there, received my doctorate there and even taught there for a couple of years. It’s always a joy to go back to see the progress that they have made."[1] O'Malley served as a professor at The Catholic University from 1969 to 1973. In 1973, he was asked to minister to Latinos living in the D.C. area. He founded Centro Catolico Hispano (Hispanic Catholic Center), an organization which provided educational, medical and legal help to immigrants. He opened a Spanish bookstore and founded the first Spanish newspaper in the D.C. area. In 1978, William Cardinal Baum appointed him episcopal vicar for the Portuguese, Hispanic, and Haitian communities, and became the executive director of the archdiocesan Office of Social Ministry. He was also named knight commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1974 by Portugal for his service to its people. Episcopacy O'Malley was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Saint Thomas on May 30, 1984 by Pope John Paul II. He received his epsicopal consecration on the following August 2 by Bishop Edward John Harper, CSSR, with Archbishop James Hickey and Bishop Eugene Marino, SSJ, serving as co-consecrators. He served as coadjutor for one year and then succeeded Bishop Harper as Bishop of Saint Thomas on October 16, 1985, upon Harper's resignation. While in the Virgin Islands, he worked with the homeless, and opened a home for people with AIDS. He was made an honorary chaplain of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1991. On June 16, 1992, following a series of sexual abuse allegations leveled against Father James Porter, O'Malley was chosen to head the Diocese of Fall River. He was installed on the following August 11. While Bishop of Fall River, O'Malley settled 101 abuse claims and initiated a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse. He also instituted one of the first comprehensive sexual abuse policies in the Roman Catholic Church. He also worked closely with the Portuguese and Hispanic population, which make up a large per-centage of the Catholics in the diocese. In 1998 John Paul II appointed O'Malley to the Special Assembly for Oceania of the Synod of Bishops. - After serving in Fall River for ten years, he was appointed Bishop of Palm Beach in Florida, on September 3, 2002. He was installed on the following October 19. The appointment came after the diocese had been rocked by revelations of sexual abuse against two of its former bishops: Joseph Symons (resigned on 1998 after admitting he molested five boys while he was a pastor) and Symons' successor Anthony O'Connell (resigned in 2002 after admitting to molesting an underage seminarian). At age 59, just nine months after arriving in Palm Beach, O'Malley was called once again to Massachusetts. He was appointed Archbishop of Boston on July 1, 2003, upon the resignation of Bernard Cardinal Law after criticism of Law's management of the sexual abuse scandals. O'Malley was installed in Boston on the following July 30. Cardinalate Pope Benedict XVI elevated O'Malley and 14 others to the rank of cardinal in the consistory on March 24, 2006. O'Malley was one of two Americans to be elevated on that day (the other was Archbishop William Levada, who succeeded Pope Benedict as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2005). The Pope announced the appointments during an audience on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch on February 22, 2006. O'Malley was created Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa Maria della Vittoria. In May 2006, he was named as a member of both the Congregation for the Clergy and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Roman Curia. On September 19, 2006, O'Malley became the first and, as of December 2006, only cardinal with a personal blog, www.CardinalSeansBlog.org. As of Christmas 2006 he began offering a regular podcast as well.[2] He views the podcasts "as yet another tool [he] can use to reach the young people in our Church who more and more are turning to the Internet for their information."[3] Cardinal O'Malley will be able to participate in any future papal conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on June 29, 2024.

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His Eminence Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley, OFM Cap, Ph.D (born June 29, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the Archbishop of Boston, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2006. O'Malley is also a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, more commonly known as the Capuchins.

Early life

Seán Patrick O'Malley was born as Patrick O'Malley in Lakewood, Ohio, the son of Theodore and Mary Louise (née Reidy) O'Malley. O'Malley, his sister, and his older brother grew up in Herman, Pennsylvania. At age 12, he entered St. Fidelis Minor Seminary, a boarding school for students considering joining the Franciscan order, in Butler, Pennsylvania. While there, in addition to studying the normal high school subjects, he also studied Spanish, Greek, German, and Hebrew, and he was active in theater.

On July 14, 1965, at the age of 21, O'Malley professed his vows in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and took the name Seán in honor of St. John the Apostle. After he was ordained Deacon he spent a brief period in Easter Island, Chile. He was ordained a priest on August 29, 1970, at age 26, by Bishop John McDowell, an auxiliary of Pittsburgh.

After graduating from St. Fidelis, he attended Capuchin College in Washington, D.C. and The Catholic University of America, where he is now a member of the Board of Trustees. He graduated from CUA with a master's degree in religious education and a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese literature. He once said of his alma mater, "I have a great affection for Catholic University. I studied there, received my doctorate there and even taught there for a couple of years. It’s always a joy to go back to see the progress that they have made."[1] O'Malley served as a professor at The Catholic University from 1969 to 1973.

In 1973, he was asked to minister to Latinos living in the D.C. area. He founded Centro Catolico Hispano (Hispanic Catholic Center), an organization which provided educational, medical and legal help to immigrants. He opened a Spanish bookstore and founded the first Spanish newspaper in the D.C. area. In 1978, William Cardinal Baum appointed him episcopal vicar for the Portuguese, Hispanic, and Haitian communities, and became the executive director of the archdiocesan Office of Social Ministry. He was also named knight commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1974 by Portugal for his service to its people.

Episcopacy

O'Malley was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Saint Thomas on May 30, 1984 by Pope John Paul II. He received his epsicopal consecration on the following August 2 by Bishop Edward John Harper, CSSR, with Archbishop James Hickey and Bishop Eugene Marino, SSJ, serving as co-consecrators. He served as coadjutor for one year and then succeeded Bishop Harper as Bishop of Saint Thomas on October 16, 1985, upon Harper's resignation. While in the Virgin Islands, he worked with the homeless, and opened a home for people with AIDS. He was made an honorary chaplain of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1991.

On June 16, 1992, following a series of sexual abuse allegations leveled against Father James Porter, O'Malley was chosen to head the Diocese of Fall River. He was installed on the following August 11. While Bishop of Fall River, O'Malley settled 101 abuse claims and initiated a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse. He also instituted one of the first comprehensive sexual abuse policies in the Roman Catholic Church. He also worked closely with the Portuguese and Hispanic population, which make up a large per-centage of the Catholics in the diocese. In 1998 John Paul II appointed O'Malley to the Special Assembly for Oceania of the Synod of Bishops. - After serving in Fall River for ten years, he was appointed Bishop of Palm Beach in Florida, on September 3, 2002. He was installed on the following October 19. The appointment came after the diocese had been rocked by revelations of sexual abuse against two of its former bishops: Joseph Symons (resigned on 1998 after admitting he molested five boys while he was a pastor) and Symons' successor Anthony O'Connell (resigned in 2002 after admitting to molesting an underage seminarian).

At age 59, just nine months after arriving in Palm Beach, O'Malley was called once again to Massachusetts. He was appointed Archbishop of Boston on July 1, 2003, upon the resignation of Bernard Cardinal Law after criticism of Law's management of the sexual abuse scandals. O'Malley was installed in Boston on the following July 30.

Cardinalate

Pope Benedict XVI elevated O'Malley and 14 others to the rank of cardinal in the consistory on March 24, 2006. O'Malley was one of two Americans to be elevated on that day (the other was Archbishop William Levada, who succeeded Pope Benedict as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2005). The Pope announced the appointments during an audience on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch on February 22, 2006. O'Malley was created Cardinal Priest with the title of Santa Maria della Vittoria. In May 2006, he was named as a member of both the Congregation for the Clergy and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Roman Curia.

On September 19, 2006, O'Malley became the first and, as of December 2006, only cardinal with a personal blog, www.CardinalSeansBlog.org. As of Christmas 2006 he began offering a regular podcast as well.[2] He views the podcasts "as yet another tool [he] can use to reach the young people in our Church who more and more are turning to the Internet for their information."[3]

Cardinal O'Malley will be able to participate in any future papal conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on June 29, 2024.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Patrick_O'Malley

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The Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta in Rome to attend the consistory pose with Cardinal O’Malley at the North American College March 26. Later in the day the order held a reception in his honor. Pilot photo by Gregory L. Tracy

Friday, March 31, 2006 edition of The Pilot
Order of Malta holds reception for new cardinal

BY Donis Tracy--Pilot correspondent
Posted: 3/31/2006

ROME — Boston Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta who had traveled to Rome to attend the consistory greeted their new cardinal at an open-air reception held in his honor March 26.
Nearly 50 people gathered at the Casa Santa Maria, a house for clergy members furthering their studies in Rome, in order to congratulate Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley and wish him well.
“This entire celebration has been spectacular,” said James F. O’Connor, chairman for the Knights of Malta for the Archdiocese of Boston. “This whole thing — it has just been phenomenal.”
According to O’Connor, Cardinal O’Malley has always been a supporter of the Knights of Malta, even serving as a chaplain for the order before becoming archbishop of Boston.
The Knights of Malta are a lay religious order of the Church, with a nearly 1,000-year-old history.
The group boasts 11,000 members worldwide, according to O’Connor, adding that in the United States there are currently 3,000 members. About 240 members of the order reside within the Archdiocese of Boston.
“Archbishop Seán has been through a very difficult time, which has taken an extra amount of holiness to get him through it. He has an aura of holiness,” said South Boston businessman Jack Shaughnessy.
“You can’t know him without loving him,” he added. “It’s a great day for Boston, an exciting day for the Church in Boston.”
“Rome has recognized his gift,” commented Dr. Mary Jane England, president of Regis College in Weston.
“We need his leadership at this time,” she said.
“We’ve got to get our heads back up in Boston and having a cardinal-archbishop might just do that,” she added.
Joining the Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta were also representatives from the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher in Boston.
Dennis Looney, on behalf of the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher, presented Cardinal O’Malley with a Knights Grand Cross, an insignia of a high rank for the cardinal.
“Thank you for everything you do for the order,” Looney told the cardinal.

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/articlearchives.asp?ID=2980
http://www.cardinalrating.com/cardinal_196__article_3571.htm (Proof Positive)

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n Oct. 25, the Order of Malta had their annual Mass at Boston College’s St. Mary Chapel. [...] It was a very successful meeting for the Order of Malta. Here is the homily I gave at the Mass: During my installation ceremony, I introduced the scores of O’Malleys who assembled for Mass in our Cathedral. There was a gasp when the congregation saw how many members of the O’Malley clan were present. So, I said: “And these are only the ones we’re talking to.” It got a big laugh because in big Irish families there is always somebody who is mad at somebody.” [...] The motto of the Order of Malta is “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum”: defense of the Faith and assistance to the poor and suffering. Recently, I was in an old Capuchin Monastery where the beams in the ceilings of the refectory were made from the ships of the Battle of Lepanto. The way we defend the Faith today is by living it and passing it on, not by invoking military prowess and force. The world needs a new apologetic as we try to answer the real questions that modern people struggle with and to answer them in the light of Christ’s Gospel. The answers need to be accompanied by the witness of a life committed to the service of poor and the sick. When the world becomes convinced that those who live as Christ’s followers are truly making this a better world, then we will get their attention and have a hearing. So, defending the faith and helping the poor are inexorably linked in our life of discipleship, and especially in the spirituality of Malta. [...] We cannot afford to be guilty bystanders; we must raise the flag of the colony of resident aliens in defense of life, of marriage and of the Church. Our message must emanate from a life transformed by prayer and committed to the works of mercy. To me that is what Malta needs to be about. Thank you for being part of it.

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n Oct. 25, the Order of Malta had their annual Mass at Boston College’s St. Mary Chapel.
[...]
It was a very successful meeting for the Order of Malta. Here is the homily I gave at the Mass:

During my installation ceremony, I introduced the scores of O’Malleys who assembled for Mass in our Cathedral. There was a gasp when the congregation saw how many members of the O’Malley clan were present. So, I said: “And these are only the ones we’re talking to.” It got a big laugh because in big Irish families there is always somebody who is mad at somebody.”
[...]
The motto of the Order of Malta is “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum”: defense of the Faith and assistance to the poor and suffering.

Recently, I was in an old Capuchin Monastery where the beams in the ceilings of the refectory were made from the ships of the Battle of Lepanto. The way we defend the Faith today is by living it and passing it on, not by invoking military prowess and force. The world needs a new apologetic as we try to answer the real questions that modern people struggle with and to answer them in the light of Christ’s Gospel. The answers need to be accompanied by the witness of a life committed to the service of poor and the sick.

When the world becomes convinced that those who live as Christ’s followers are truly making this a better world, then we will get their attention and have a hearing. So, defending the faith and helping the poor are inexorably linked in our life of discipleship, and especially in the spirituality of Malta.
[...]
We cannot afford to be guilty bystanders; we must raise the flag of the colony of resident aliens in defense of life, of marriage and of the Church. Our message must emanate from a life transformed by prayer and committed to the works of mercy. To me that is what Malta needs to be about.

Thank you for being part of it.

http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/?p=2782

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Additionally, it will be noted that the Cardinal's shield also rests upon a Maltese Cross in its proper colors of red and white. The inclusion of this cross in the design signifies that at the request of His Eminence James Cardinal Hickey, then Cardinal-Archbishop of Washington, DC and Chaplain of the Washington Lieutenancy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Cardinal O'Malley was named as a Chaplain "Ad Honorum" of the Order in 1991. By this position the Bishop became a member of one of the oldest chivalric order in Christendom, the Hospitaliers of St. John of Jerusalem, who, at one time, had their headquarters on the Island of Malta (the headquarters are now In Rome) and have thereafter been known as the Knights of Malta.

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Additionally, it will be noted that the Cardinal's shield also rests upon a Maltese Cross in its proper colors of red and white. The inclusion of this cross in the design signifies that at the request of His Eminence James Cardinal Hickey, then Cardinal-Archbishop of Washington, DC and Chaplain of the Washington Lieutenancy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Cardinal O'Malley was named as a Chaplain "Ad Honorum" of the Order in 1991. By this position the Bishop became a member of one of the oldest chivalric order in Christendom, the Hospitaliers of St. John of Jerusalem, who, at one time, had their headquarters on the Island of Malta (the headquarters are now In Rome) and have thereafter been known as the Knights of Malta.

http://www.rcab.org/People/omalleyCoA.html (Proof Positive II)

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His Eminence, Sean Cardinal O'Malley stops after the International Mass to greet Ligia Remick (Baltimore). Ms. Remick tutored then Father O'Malley in Portuguese when both were in Washington in the '70's.

One highlight was having one
of our distinguished former Chaplains, His Eminence Sean
Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston (who has since transferred
to the American Association), as the Principal Celebrant
for Sunday Mass in the underground Basilica of St. Pius X.
Not only were the Mass and the Homily mostly in English for
the first time in recent memory, but Cardinal O'Malley was
very humorous and insightful in his teaching.

http://www.smom.org/files/malta-review-16x02.pdf (Proof Positive III)