By James L. Franklin, Globe Staff, 5/27/1985

ope John Paul II yesterday celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Christian church, with 28 new cardinals at his side in St. Peter's Square.

"You are a special sign of the universality (of the Catholic Church), combining many languages into the unity of the church," the Pope told the bishops he had summoned here from five continents and 19 nations. In a two-hour Mass beneath skies that lowered with rain but delivered only a sprinkle, John Paul completed the ritual of tying the new cardinals closely to him and to the church of Rome.

He wedded them to their task of serving as papal advisers and electors with a simple gold ring.

"Receive the ring from the hand of Peter and know that the love of the Prince of the Apostles will strengthen your love for the church," John Paul said during a ceremony whose simplicity belied the splendor of the gold and red of the vestments worn by the cardinals.

After hearing the story of the first Pentecost recounted in readings from the New Testament, Boston's Cardinal Bernard F. Law and the 27 other cardinals stood at the foot of the steps in St. Peter's Square before the Pope, whose role it is to continue the work of Peter, leader of the Apostles.

Each cardinal then knelt before John Paul to receive the ring and in turn kissed his Fisherman's Ring, another sign of his succession to the leadership of Simon Peter, a fisherman who crossed the sea from the Roman province of Palestine to lead the infant church in the capital of the Roman empire.

The readings of the solemn Latin liturgy retold the story of Pentecost, when the Apostles, the closest followers of Jesus, gathered in a room in Jerusalem, called the cenacle, praying together with Mary, the mother of Jesus, but still fearful of persecution after the death of Jesus.

According to the New Testament, on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover and the Crucifixion, a religious experience, the coming of the spirit of God, sent those first leaders of the church out into the streets praising God in languages that were recognized by Jews from all over the Mediterranean world.

Thus Pope John Paul used yesterday's feast day to send the new cardinals home to spread the Christian message in languages recognizable to the peoples of the world.

"As the Father has sent me, so I send you," said John Paul, using the words of Jesus in the Gospel to send his new cardinals on mission.

From the beginning of its history, the church has taken form in "a multiplicity of languages, cultures, peoples and nations," he said. All are brought together "in one body, the body of Christ . . . working with one spirit.

"Today from this Roman cenacle, near the tomb of St. Peter, resound some of the tongues spoken in the church today, Italian, French, Spanish, English, German, Polish, Dutch, Ukrainian, Slovakian, Tamil, Ibo and Ethiopian," he said.

The Pope called on them to return home to give "testimony to this unity . . . to construct it in a special way" and protect "the great mystery of the body of Christ, which is one with many members . . . animated with one spirit."

Cardinal Law, who with the other new cardinals concelebrated the Mass with the Pope, spent a quieter day yesterday than he did after his elevation to cardinal at a public consistory the day before.

He left the square in procession with the Pope and new cardinals and did not reappear to meet the hundreds of Boston pilgrims who gathered at the front of the 30,000 worshipers present for the Mass.

Present for the Mass were several Boston officials who had been in Rome to watch his predecessor, Humberto Medeiros, become a cardinal in 1973.

Msgr. Thomas Finnegan of Milton, who was chancellor of the archdiocese of Boston in 1973, watched from the first rank of dignitaries in the front of the square. Also looking on was Bishop Joseph Maguire of Springfield, who was secretary and later auxiliary bishop for Cardinal Medeiros.

The Gospel reading at the Mass was sung by a Boston seminarian, Robert Reed of Swampscott, a deacon who is finishing his studies at the North American College in Rome.

Saturday night Cardinal Law gave a private reception for 200 Boston clergy and other guests at the Grand Hotel in Rome.

This story ran in the Boston Globe on 5/27/1985.
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