FACE TO FACE: Newly crowned with his red hat, or biretta, Timothy Cardinal Dolan exchanges words with Pope Benedict XVI yesterday. (AFP/Getty Images)
HOLY BLING: Dolan wears his gold cardinal’s ring yesterday. He admitted the pope had “a little trouble” slipping it on his plump finger. (NY Post: Tamara Beckwith)
ROME — Underneath the four twisted columns of the papal altar and before a dramatic sea of red and purple hats, Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals yesterday inside the historic St. Peter’s Basilica.
While the pontiff addressed cardinals, bishops and 10,000 of the faithful, he sat in a chair placed in the middle of the altar directly above the burial site of St. Peter, the apostle who became the church’s first bishop and pope.
Amid the sweeping views, frescoes and giant marble statues, the pontiff summoned each cardinal by name.
When the pope called him, Timothy Cardinal Dolan grinned and slowly walked up the steps and greeted him. Once there, Dolan received his red hat, gold ring and a scroll — re-enacting an ancient ritual that popes have conducted for centuries to name new princes of the church.
But Dolan admitted afterward to an awkward moment during the ceremony when the pope had “a little trouble” slipping the gold ring on Dolan’s plump finger.
“That was a little embarrassing,” he recalled.
Once the ring was on, the two shared a warm embrace — with both briefly grinning at one other while sharing a few words.
The newly red-capped Dolan said the pope thanked him for giving the keynote address on the topic of evangelization during Friday’s closed-door meeting with the College of Cardinals at the Vatican.
“I said, ‘No, thank you for this,’ ” Dolan recalled, pointing to his shiny crimson robe.
“I don’t want this to go to my head — literally,” he said, gesturing to his new red hat. “This is not about power and prestige, but about helping people and serving the church.”
Smoke and zucchettos — Dolan’s new exclusive club
* Cardinals, the “princes of the church,” are the pope’s closest advisers. First cited in the early Middle Ages, they were originally priests in the principal churches in Rome. In the 11th century, cardinals were given the task of electing a new pope — which they signal with a plume of white smoke. Brooklyn-born John McCloskey, archbishop of New York, is considered the first American cardinal. He was elevated in 1875.
* The newly expanded College of Cardinals includes 213 men, but only 125 are eligible to vote because of an age limit of 80; 12 US cardinals are of voting age.
* New cardinals will receive the red zucchetto (skullcap) and biretta (a red cap with three upright projecting pieces), symbols of their new status. Red predominates their garb as a symbol of their willingness to die for their faith.
* Called “Your Excellency” as an archbishop, Cardinal Dolan now will be “Your Eminence.”
* Newly minted cardinals receive a $2,300 18-karat gold ring, representing their commitment to the church. The rings bear the image of Sts. Peter and Paul, emphasizing a continuity from the time of the apostles.
* Dolan is the eighth archbishop of New York elevated to cardinal. Cardinals do not relinquish their title, even in retirement. Dolan’s elevation gives New York two living cardinals who can vote for a new pope — albeit briefly. The other is Edward Cardinal Egan, the former archbishop of New York, who will exceed voting age when he turns 80 in April.
* An amended coat of arms will greet Dolan when he returns to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The image of a cardinal’s red galero — a broad-brimmed tasseled hat — is the main change to his personal crest, which includes two scrolls to honor his patron, St. Timothy, who was the recipient of two of St. Paul’s Epistles, and a red crown, taken from the arms of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, from where he hails. Below it is his episcopal motto: Ad Quem Ibimus, meaning, “Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?”
* Cardinal Dolan oversees 2.6 million Catholics across Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island and seven upstate counties. He’s the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. With his elevation, Dolan effectively becomes the leader of the US church.