New cardinal: good news for the South

November 2, 2007

My dear friends,

The rumor finally came true and it was a surprise.

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the first “Southern” cardinal, Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. By “Southern,” of course, I mean that he represents that geographical region of our country, from Florida to Texas south of Washington, D.C.

CNS | Erik Noriega, Texas Catholic Herald
Cardinal-designate Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston addresses chancery staff during an Oct. 17 afternoon reception to celebrate the announcement that he was one of 23 new cardinals named earlier that day by Pope Benedict XVI.

Until Cardinal-elect DiNardo’s appointment, U.S. cardinals were concentrated on the East Coast, with one on the West Coast in Los Angeles and only Chicago and Detroit in between.

This gap obviously needed to be addressed and rumors had swirled for years about which diocese would be selected as a cardinal see.

My native New Orleans supposedly had a historical claim, since it dated back to 1793. Others thought Miami would be selected in recognition of our incredible growth over the past 50 years, a growth due in large part to the influx of Hispanic immigrants.

Some thought Atlanta might be selected because of its stature among southern U.S. cities. Still others thought the cardinal should come from a Texas diocese, given the vastness of the state and the tremendous growth in the number of Catholics, again due to the influx and presence of Hispanics.

Texas makes sense, since the state has 15 dioceses in all, including 2 archdioceses — the largest ecclesiastical province in the world, according to the Web site of the Texas Catholic Conference.

Few people know it, but Galveston was the first diocese to be founded in Texas. It dates back to 1847, although it only became an archdiocese in 2004. Officially, Galveston-Houston registers more than 1.3 million Catholics, although there are perhaps thousands more who are not on the church’s rolls. There are almost 7 million Catholics in Texas, making it the third largest state, after California and New York.

Making the choice easier for Pope Benedict was Cardinal-elect DiNardo himself, a wonderful man and a holy priest. The honorary rank of cardinal confers upon him more responsibilities in terms of assisting the Holy Father in the work of the universal church, and of course selecting a new pope whenever that time comes.

I am sure that Cardinal-elect DiNardo will bring lots of “Southern sensibilities” to his new role and therefore quite adequately represent, both to Rome and to the world, the needs and experiences of this important, vastly changing, vastly growing region of the U.S.

Join me then in offering our congratulations and prayers to Cardinal-elect DiNardo, who will receive the red hat at the Nov. 24 consistory.

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