Be careful where you sit

When I was in the seminary I took two quarters of Latin. It was not enough but I could not fit more into my schedule.

The professor was one of my favorites, a witty, sarcastic priest with a monotone teaching voice that could put you to sleep in moments who taught via tangents (which is part of why I enjoyed him), but if you stayed awake you were guaranteed many good chuckles. Uproarious laughter, though rare, was also a good possibility.

At any rate, I sat in the back row and was part of what the professor referred to as the turba, the unruly crowd.

I have always enjoyed plopping down at a table in the corner or the back of a room with good friends making various remarks of humorous quality, quietly, of course, and generally unnoticed by the crowd. Such was my intention today at the dinner preceeding the dedication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

A priest friend and I were about to join a table when we realized it was full. I suggested we start a new table and so to the empty corner table we went where we could make humorous comments and where I could also take pictures.

No sooner did we sit down than His Excellency the Most Reverend George J. Lucas, Archbishop of Omaha, pointed to the table at which we just sat, saying, "There's room over here." Before I knew it I was sitting next to His Emminence Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago and his secretary Fr. Dan who's-last-name-I-never-remember, and with His Excellency Edward Braxton, Bishop of Belleville, and His Excellency John Gaydos, Bishop of Jefferson City. I really should be more careful in the future where I sit.

As one of the Masters of Ceremonies at the seminary, I had the opportunity to chat with Cardinal George several times and I always enjoy visiting with him. Just before I excused myself to return to the Cathedral he said the next time he's near Virden he'll stop by and say hello. I'll have to send him a note telling him he's always welcome; I doubt a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church has stopped in Virden before.

Though I was not able to make too many comments during the dinner, I did get a couple of pictures of Archbishop Lucas with the crozier the priests of Springfield in Illinois gave him as a farewell gift: