Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Terrance KleinMarch 17, 2013

LORD GRANTHAM: I’ve called you all together, family and servants, because I have just been handed a telegram by Carson. It seems there has been a papal election, and a Jesuit has been chosen.

DAISY: Ooh! I ‘ope it’s Father James Martin. ‘E’s such a nice smile!

MRS. PATMORE: Hush, Daisy. And listen.

LORD GRANTHAM: No, not Father Martin. It’s a South American Jesuit, from Buenos Aires.

COUNTESS GRANTHAM: Well, I had hoped it would be an American, but I was thinking, perhaps, Cardinal Dolan. He has such a "can-do attitude." That’s what those Catholics need now.

LORD GRANTHAM: The new pope has taken the name Francis, though in Argentina, he’s being called "Papa Pancho."

MRS. PATMORE: I knew an Italian baker once, named Francesco. Made wine on the side.

DOWAGER DUCHESS: A Jesuit from Buenos Aires? Pope Francis? Papa Pancho? What’s next? A royal prince dancing naked in Las Vegas?

MRS. ISOBEL CRAWLEY: I’m afraid, it’s been done before.

LORD GRANTHAM: They say that his preferred mode of transport is the autobus. That his Vatican car is now a Volkswagen.

TOM BRANSON: And right gladly would I drive ‘im, if I were still a chauffeur. That’s social justice, it is.

DOWAGER DUCHESS: Takes the bus? Rides in a Volkswagen? Heavens! What’s next? A mule?

MRS. ISOBEL CRAWLEY: I’m afraid, it’s been done before.

LORD GRANTHAM: And he appeared on the papal loggia wearing a simple white cassock and a plain pectoral cross. Evidently he’s eschewed the Prada shoes and gold cross.

O’BRIEN: Fine thing, unless you happen to sew for Prada. But who looks after the artisans?

THOMAS: The old Pope dressed so fine. That red Mozzetta on his shoulders, with a bit of ermine. And that Camauro cap when it was a nipper in Rome. Now there’s a gentlemen I could be a proper valet for.

O’BRIEN: Indeed, Thomas. Well, I believe the position is open if you care to inquire.

LORD GRANTHAM: I’ve just been handed another telegram by Carson. It’s from Pope Francis. It seems that, in the absence of a male heir, he is suggesting that Downton revert to its previous owners.

DOWAGER DUCHESS: Revert to its previous owners? My dear, Downton has been in the Crawley Family since his Royal Highness King Henry VIII bestowed it on the first Lord Grantham.

LORD GRANTHAM: That’s just it, Mother. As a question of justice, Pope Francis is suggesting we give it back to the Benedictines. That is, of course, why it’s called Downton Abbey.

DOWAGER DUCHESS: Heavens! Jesuits! Argentina! Busses! Give Downton back to the Benedictines? And what will we do then? Pray and brew beer? Walk on water?

MRS. ISOBEL CRAWLEY: I’m afraid it’s been done before.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Mister Heche
11 years 10 months ago
To read the text of Pope Francis' address during his first meeting with the news media, click on the link. It is good stuff! http://allhands-ondeck.blogspot.com/2013/03/pope-francis-meeting-with-journalists.html

The latest from america

A Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinJanuary 22, 2025
Ahead of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless spoke with Kelly Ryan, the president of Jesuit Refugee Service USA, about her 30 years of experience working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
Ashley McKinlessJanuary 22, 2025
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio expressed grave concern over the wave of new executive orders on immigration, the environment and the death penalty.
Kate Scanlon - OSV NewsJanuary 22, 2025
Catholic leaders in the Holy Land called on Christian pilgrims to return to the region following the implementation of the long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.