A Visitor From the Vatican

A Visitor From the Vatican

Article and Photos By: Andrew McKeough

From February 23rd through the 25th, Villanova was graced by the presence of His Eminence, Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson. His Eminence is the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican in Rome. I had the extremely special opportunity to be the personal private photographer to His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson while he was on his visit to Villanova. The following is an account of my experiences with His Eminence.

His Eminence arrived on Tuesday and enjoyed a day of rest. On Wednesday his day started with a lecture to the Villanova engineering department on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’. After his lecture, he departed Villanova’s campus and visited a local prison with Dr. Barbara Wall.

His Eminence’s visit really kicked off on Thursday morning when he held an interfaith dialogue on climate justice in the Connelly Center’s Villanova Room. This program was presented and organized by Dr. Barbara Wall and the Office for Mission & Ministry. Cardinal Turkson helped Pope Francis to write Laudato Si’, which is Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology. Ecology is another word for climate change or global warming. The dialogue was a panel discussion with members of different faith communities including Rabbi Malkah Binah, the Rev. J. Anyabwile Bankole, Sister Marie Cook, Imam Sohaib Sultan from Princeton University as well as Rabbi Arthur Waskow. Cardinal Turkson said that, “[The encyclical] was basically a secular letter, but a letter necessary for the church [...] the church is called to this social teaching.” His Eminence went on to say that he believed that ecology directly affects social issues including poverty and went on to say that, “This is an international discussion for people of every religion and faith.”

After the lecture on ecology, His Eminence walked over to Saint Thomas of Villanova Church where he celebrated noon mass to a crowd of students, faculty, staff and community members. Getting to spend the time with His Eminence, I was able to see him in moments that were out of the public eye. One of those moments came right before he walked through the wooden doors from the vestibule into the church. After greeting members from campus ministry who would be taking part in the mass, the sacristy was vacated except for His Eminence. He bent over the counter and took a few minutes in solemn prayer before celebrating mass.

This really sparked a lot in my mind. His Eminence is very close to Pope Francis. Literary and figuratively. When you meet him you feel as if he has been a part of your family for years.He is humble and kind, not to mention extremely funny. But I felt as if I was in the presence of a Pope. He gives off that Papal vibe that Pope Francis gives off whenever he is placed in front of a crowd. That being said, Cardinal Turkson was thought of to be the next Pope during the 2013 conclave that would lead to the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis.

After mass, His Eminence walked over to Campus Ministry at Saint Rita’s for a private luncheon. In attendance were religious leaders from the interfaith panel that was held earlier in the morning as well as members of Catholic Relief Services and Villanova’s Campus Ministry. When everyone had finished eating, His Eminence continued the discussion that he had earlier during the panel on Laudato Si’.

Around two in the afternoon we walked from Saint Rita’s to Corr Hall, where His Eminence would sit down for an interview with WHYY’s Dave Heller for a radio interview. The interview can be heard on their website.

His Eminence then had time to relax until he was due back at Saint Thomas around four thirty for a Vespers Prayer Service. Vespers is also called an evening prayer service and is made up of psalms as well as readings from the Bible. As a catholic, attending a vespers service here at Villanova has been one of the highlights of my time as a part of the faith community as is the case with any type of service at Villanova, I strongly recommend attending one.

Cardinal Turkson then retired back to the monastery for dinner before returning for the highlight and most anticipated event of his trip which was his evening lecture and the presentation of an honorary degree in humane letters by Father Peter Donohue. During his lecture - titled “Care of Creation as a Work of Mercy” - His Eminence spoke once again about the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’ and focused on how to live your life through mercy in a modern faith community. The lecture focused on the five points of the Lenten reflection and was the foundation for the lecture. Cardinal Turkson said that, “Care of creation could also be our eighth corporal work of mercy, through concrete actions large and small – from the everyday actions of good ecological citizens to pressuring national governments to implement what they have promised. We must keep alert about what is happening to our common home [...]”. After his lecture Father Peter presented His Eminence with a degree in humane letters on behalf of the university.

Overall the experience that I had with His Eminence was an extreme honor and hearing his thoughts on ecology was something that has now become an eye-opener for me as a human. I will leave you with the words that Cardinal Turkson left Villanova with, “It is my burning desire that, during this Jubilee, the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty.”