ROME – Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan played tour guide today for his brother and family, using Valentine’s Day to profess his love for the snow-covered Eternal City and calling it a “mistress you constantly have to flirt with.”
“This is coming home for me,” Dolan said as he stood on the rooftop of the North American Pontifical College, where he is staying this week before being made a cardinal on Saturday. “See, Rome is like a mistress you constantly have to flirt with.”
Dolan, 62, lived at the college during the 1970s when he was studying to be a priest and again in the 1990s when he served as the school’s rector.
“I was homesick, but this became home really quickly,” said Dolan, who sported a Giants cap and an NYPD Emerald Society sweatshirt. “I learned that Rome is a classroom – you have to explore and study it.”
Asked if Rome was the prettiest place he ever lived, Dolan was diplomatic.
“Only after New York,” he said with a smile.
Dolan’s brother Bob, 55, his wife Beth, and nieces Erin, 25, and Caitlin, 24, listened as Dolan rattled off the parts of Rome dearest to him.
“There’s Vatican City. It’s no bigger than an 18-hole golf course,” he said, pointing at the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as his family gazed in amazement.
Dolan listed the Basilica of St. John Lateran – where he will celebrate mass today – as one of his favorite sites, along with Villa Borghese, which he called “Rome’s Central Park,” and the Pantheon.
“Is it stunning up here or what?” he said. “I love the whole city. To walk the streets, to go to a neighborhood you’ve never seen or explore a fountain or old church – that’s what makes Rome so unique.”
Dolan said he couldn’t get over the 30-degree temperatures and snow that have hit Rome over the past few weeks.
“This is typical New York weather in the winter,” he joked. “In the 11 years total that I lived here, we only got a light dusting once.”
Bob Dolan, who is used to the cold since he lives in Milwaukee, said he’s “excited” about his brother being named a cardinal at the Vatican.
“It really is something,” he said. “This is a really special time for our family.”
Dolan’s wife, Beth, gushed, “We’re so proud of him. It’s amazing to be here.”
About another 45 members of Dolan’s family will arrive later this week – including his 83-year-old mother Shirley – and another 1,000 pilgrims from New York.
“This is an emotional time for me,” said Dolan. “It’s intimidating [to be named a cardinal], but it’s a responsibility that I do not take lightly.”
As for sending a Valentine’s message to people back in New York, Dolan said, “I love you. My arteries may be clogged, but my heart is full of love for you all.”