The Irish may be late but they are always faithful, the Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, Dermot Clifford, said in a homily given last night in the Basilica of St John Lateran's in Rome.
Archbishop Clifford's sermon came during a thanksgiving Mass for Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh, who was "elevated" to the Vatican's College of Cardinals last weekend by Pope Benedict XVI.
Archbishop Clifford recalled how he and Cardinal Brady had been ordained in Rome on the same day, February 22nd, 1964. Unfortunately, on the day of their ordination, the young Irish priests were delayed when they stopped to chat to a beggar-woman whom they regularly met near the Irish College.
By the time the Irish priests arrived for the ordination ceremony, everyone else was lined up and waiting. The Master of Ceremonies was not much amused, complaining that the Irish "were late as usual". To which, Archbishop Clifford replied: "Hiberni aliquando tardi sed semper fideles" (the Irish may be late, but they are always faithful).
Watching the whole Latin exchange was Seán Brady, who remained calm and cool, displaying qualities that have stood him in good stead ever since. Never more so, said Archbishop Clifford, than when he sat down to "converse comfortably" with the Rev Ian Paisley or when he became the first Catholic primate to accept an invitation to the installation of the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Ken Newell.
Cardinal Brady's contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland has been "generously acknowledged" not only by various church and political leaders but also by Pope Benedict himself, as underlined by his appointment as cardinal. Archbishop Clifford reminded the large, almost exclusively Irish congregation that Pope Benedict sees the Northern peace process as "a model for the rest of the world in the area of conflict resolution".
Earlier yesterday, Cardinal Brady and the other 22 new cardinals had an audience with Pope Benedict in the Vatican's Paul VI hall. Saluting all the "new boys" one by one in their native tongues, the pope said: "This meeting today prolongs the atmosphere of prayer and communion that we have experienced during these days of joy."
Cardinal Brady returns to Ireland on Thursday for a special parade through Armagh, prior to Mass in St Patrick's Cathedral.