The year was 1770. In a small Italian church, two altar boys were preparing for Benediction. Annibale Della Genga and Francesco Castiglione entered the sacristy, put on their cassocks and surplices, and grabbed the heavy brass candlesticks. Then they made their way to the entrance of the church, quietly arguing over who would stand on the priest’s right for the procession.
Their quarrel escalated into a shouting match. Alarmed parishioners turned their heads to the back of the church to see the commotion, and that’s when it happened: Castiglione cracked Della Genga over the head with his candlestick! Blood dripped from Della Genga’s injured forehead, and both boys began shoving each other. Shocked parishioners screamed, “Throw them out! Throw them out!” So, the embarrassed priest grabbed the boys, led them to the door, and tossed them out of the church.
Fast-forward fifty-five years to 1825. Half a million people have gathered in Rome for the great Jubilee celebration. The Jubilee occurs every 25 years, and its grand climax is the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. Traditionally, the Pope knocks on the door three times with a large silver hammer and sings, “Open unto me the gates of justice!” On the third knock, the door swings open, and the Pope leads his people through. The symbolism is rich: pilgrims from all over the world coming back home to the Church follow their leader through the great porta fidei, the “door of Faith.”
In the 1825 Jubilee year, in front of thousands of pilgrims, Pope Leo XII, formerly known as Annibale Della Genga, made his way to the door. It was fifty-five years after the candlestick incident. Pope Leo XII neared the door, knelt down in prayer, and then, turning to the Cardinal beside him—Cardinal Castiglione—the Pope said, “Let me have the hammer.” With a sly grin, Castiglione replied, “Just like I gave you the candlestick?”
Amazingly, four years later, Castiglione succeeded his friend and became Pope, taking the name Pius VIII.
If you had told any of those pew sitters back in 1770 that they had two future Popes in the back of their church, they would have laughed you out of the building: “Those two boys? The ones shoving and whacking each other with candlesticks?”
How about James and John, those two ambitious disciples? They remind us that God always has a plan, and it was to take simple, flawed disciples and fashion them into James, the great Martyr, and John, the great Gospel writer and beloved Apostle.
- To view Rosary prayer and Mass streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 am Eastern, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
