LITTLE COMPTON — A parishioner at St. Catherine of Siena parish who also serves as a special liaison to the Holy Father, charged with escorting heads of state and other dignitaries to meet with the pope during their visits to the Vatican, learned this past week in conveying a personal message of congratulations and best wishes through the Holy See to Pope Francis, just how much of an indelible imprint the new pontiff has already left on the church.
“He’s really made a great impression on everybody,” said Dr. Joseph Hagan, 78, who was appointed to serve as a papal gentleman-in-waiting in 1991 by Pope John Paul II. At the time, Hagan was in the midst of his 20-year tenure as president of Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.
“I think it’s a breath of fresh air for the church,” he said, noting the openness and humility with which the new pontiff has introduced himself to the world.
Hagan marveled at how the pope processed outside of a Vatican City church Sunday and greeted parishioners one by one as they left the morning’s Mass.
“It is incredible to see the pope function in this way,” he added.
As a papal gentleman-in-waiting, Hagan presents dignitaries to the pope at the Vatican or at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence, where Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI retired to until his new residence at a Vatican City monastery is completed.
Hagan said that had he not recently been in treatment for prostate cancer in Rhode Island, he and his wife Patrice, who like Joseph also serves an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at St. Catherine, would have attended Tuesday’s Installation Mass for Pope Francis.
“I would probably have been there right from the time that Pope Benedict resigned,” said Hagan, who spends between three to four months each year living in Rome, where he also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of John Cabot University.
Hagan said that he planned to travel to Rome shortly after Easter, and expects to meet Pope Francis sometime in April.
“I want to be of service to the new pope as best I can,” he said.
He said that Pope Francis will be a great pontiff, following in the tradition of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
“The election of Pope Francis is a great gift from the Holy Spirit to the church. He is a holy, beautiful person deeply committed to authentic church teaching and is devoted to the poor and marginalized.
