Hats off to His Eminence.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan reveled in the warm embrace of his beloved New York flock yesterday after a whirlwind Vatican voyage during which he was made a prince of the church.
“You make me feel at home,” the new cardinal told the crowd outside his residence behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral as the NYPD’s Emerald Society Pipe and Drum band gave him a welcoming salute.
“It’s good to be home,” the new cardinal said as he waved his fedora to the faithful, accompanied by his mother, Shirley.
“I know I got to do a lot of traveling, but there’s nothing like just getting back home. And now to have my mom with me, it really makes it home. She’ll be with me until Monday. “
Showing no signs of jet lag, New York’s archbishop was whisked back home shortly after his 2 p.m. arrival at Kennedy Airport and a nine-hour flight that included a planeload of faithful who made the trip to Rome for the occasion.
After a week of fine Italian dining, Dolan said he was looking forward to walking to the street corner to get a bite to eat.
“You can’t get a decent hot dog in Rome,” he quipped.
“It went really well. It really did. But it’s good to be back home. You know how much I love Rome. Still, you can’t beat the good ol’ USA.”
Dolan’s fans were glad to have him back.
“We are proud as anything to play for him,” said Emerald Society drummer Sean Scanlan, 56, a retired detective. “I felt pride when I got the call to come and play.”
Dolan was elevated to cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI during a nine-day trip to the Vatican.
Among Dolan’s highlights was introducing his mother to the pontiff.
There will be no rest for the weary cardinal.
Instead of sleeping in late this morning, his eminence will visit a Manhattan parish at 6 a.m. to hand out bread to the homeless.
“It’s great,” said Enza Fiorito, 51, who stopped by St. Francis of Assisi to pray on her lunch break.
“He’s really tired, but he’s getting up to come to this small church and to honor this church. I feel honored.”
Dolan, who will conduct Ash Wednesday celebrations today, has said he might have to give up some of his beloved pasta for Lent.