Among the O'Malley relatives in town for the consistory are his stepmother, Claire, his older brother, Ted, and his younger sister, Mary Alexsovich. I sat down with Mary, a longtime educator who lives in Fort Lauderdale, this afternoon; she turns out to be a regular reader, and sometime critic, of the Globe, a fiercely protective sibling, and both sharp and charming.

Q. What should people know about your brother that they don't know now?
A. So many things. His sense of humor is one thing. And he's all about kindness. He is truly what we're all supposed to be, a Christian.

Q. Did he pretend to be a cardinal when he was 8?
A. He never pretended to be anything. He never expected this. Did I think he would be a cardinal? Absolutely. To me it seems natural that he would.

Q. On the day that this was announced, he seemed almost unhappy, but over the last week he seems energized.
A. It's such a huge responsibility, another huge responsibility. I think, when it was first announced, he had to assimilate that, and what it's going to mean. But he's all about acceptance. Whatever God sends him, he will do it.

Q. Do you offer him any sisterly advice?
A. Yeah, get out there and show everybody who you are, because to know him is to love him. I can't believe I've read, 'remote.' He is not remote. But he's never been under such a magnifying glass before. And it's not easy for someone who is not a politician.

Q. Where does his voice come from?
A. I don't know. He's like a savant with languages. But it's a unique characteristic. It probably started when he started preaching.

Archbishop O'Malley's sister, Mary Alexsovich
Globe Staff Photo / David Ryan

My faithful e-mailers tell me that more change is afoot at Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton, the once-vibrant parish that has been in turmoil since the forced resignation of its popular pastor, the Rev. Walter H. Cuenin, over contested allegations of financial misconduct. Archbishop O'Malley appointed the Rev. Christopher J. Coyne as pastor, but he lasted only four months before unhappiness at the parish caused him to resign.

Now comes word that the parochial vicar at the parish, the Rev. Paul Kilroy, is being transferred, and that a new pastor is on the way. Kilroy, who is a Cuenin ally and likeminded but less outspoken archdiocesan critic, had been pastor of nearby St. Bernard Church until it closed, and was not reinstated when the parish was reopened, again because the archdiocese claimed financial concerns. Now Kilroy has sent a letter to parishioners, saying that he is moving to St. Joseph Church in Medford effective April 5.

The rumor mill has the name of the new pastor, but the archdiocese has not confirmed it, and I'm going to wait for something solid before posting it. For now, archdiocesan spokesman Terrence C. Donilon will say only "The Archdiocese expects to soon announce a new pastor for Our Lady Help of Christians. No further information is available at this time."

Stay tuned. And keep those e-mails coming.

UPDATE (Friday afternoon from Rome): I'm now told there will be a team ministry at the parish, and that one of the two priests will be the Rev. John E. Sassani, who has been the administrator at St. Theresa Church in Sherborn, and director of the office of spiritual development at the archdiocese. I know him, and he is a bright, clear, and pastoral priest; he had served as the archdiocese's liaison to the folks who have been occupying St. Anselm Church in Sudbury and from what I hear was well-received there. Still waiting for confirmation/elaboration from the archdiocese, the name of the other priest, and reaction from Newton.

I spent some time this afternoon talking with everyone's favorite American cardinal (OK, maybe not everyone, but a lot of people's), Theodore E. McCarrick. McCarrick, who is expecting to retire as archbishop of Washington this summer, is a big fan of O'Malley, and has asked O'Malley to come say a Mass at the cathedral in Washington in recognition of the 14 years O'Malley spent in the capital as a young priest. Here's a portion of our exchange.

Q: What is the significance of the inclusion of Archbishop O'Malley among the 15 new cardinals?
A: We always knew that Boston is a cardinalatial see in the United States. It's the mother church of so many of the good things that have happened in our country. It was the mother church of the missions, under Cushing. And it has always been one of the largest and one of the most important churches in our country, so it was natural that he (Pope Benedict XVI) would do that. I also believe that he (the pope) has to be pleased with the very courageous and forthright way in which Cardinal O'Malley has guided the diocese, has shepherded it. Cardinal O'Malley has made some very difficult decisions, but they're decisions that had to be made. I think the Holy Father wanted to say 'thank you' to him, and 'thank you' to the church of Boston, which in the most part has been so supportive of him.

Q. How does being a cardinal change one's life?
A. All of it becomes more intense. You have to participate in some of the Roman entities. And you do play a stronger role at times. The cardinal's voice in the media is heard, usually, more readily, and I think that that's going to happen to Cardinal O'Malley in a very special way. He's a very wise and articulate man, a very eloquent spokesman.

Q. Do you have any advice for him?
A. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep healthy. And take a day off.

I met with Cardinal McCarrick at North American College during a late afternoon break from the cardinals' meeting; David Ryan captured a photo of him meeting with the other cardinals at Synod Hall earlier in the day:

...you can always watch TV (that's the other glowing screen in your room...)

The consistory, which starts at 4:30 a.m. Boston time on Friday, will air live on 7NEWS (WHDH-TV), hosted by anchor Christa Delcamp from Rome; CBS4, with reports from anchor Lisa Hughes in Rome; New England Cable News, with anchor R.D. Sahl in Rome, and Boston Catholic Television, with director Rev. Robert Reed in Rome.

There will also be live coverage here on Boston.com, where my colleagues promise minute-by-minute live updates starting at 4 a.m.

WCVB-TV, which has sent reporter Heather Unruh to Rome, plans to carry portions of the consistory live during its Friday morning newscasts.

For those of you planning to sleep in, or at least to sleep past 4:30, BCTV is also planning to rebroadcast the ceremony at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Friday. In addition, at 10:30 a.m. Friday BCTV plans to air an interview with Archbishop O'Malley, and at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday BCTV will broadcast that morning's Mass of the Rings.

These big Catholic events always provide an unusual opportunity for priests to do color commentary, and two of Boston's will be on-air. The Rev. Paul B. O'Brien, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Lawrence, is in Rome and doing commentary for CBS4; the Rev. Chris O'Connor, of St. John's Seminary in Brighton, will be providing commentary from Boston on WBZ radio.

The Globe's David Ryan was among a select group of photographers admitted to the first few minutes of today's "reflection and prayer" gathering of the cardinals and the cardinals-designate with Pope Benedict XVI.

In a brief statement (more to come later) the Vatican said "During the meeting there will be free discussions and exchanges of opinion among the participants, in a manner similar to the congregations of cardinals prior to last year's conclave.''

Here's David's overview of the scene:

And here's his picture of the smiling pontiff, getting ready for serious business.

And here's a photo of one of the participants, who may look familiar to some of you: Cardinal Bernard F. Law, the former archbishop of Boston and current archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

More later...

In addition to honoring Archbishop O'Malley and continuing her preparation to become a Dame of Malta, Regis College President Dr. Mary Jane England is thrilled to be in Rome for a special reason: she wants to pray about the possibility that Regis, the last all-women's Catholic college in the Archdiocese of Boston, will admit men as undergraduates.

"Regis is going through a tremendous transition, trying to decide whether to go co-ed,'' said England, a psychiatrist and one-time state DSS commissioner who graduated from Regis in 1959. "I hope this pilgrimage will give us a vision of how to do this.''

England said the board at Regis is scheduled to decide whether to admit men in June or July, and if the step is approved, men would be admitted for the classes that begin in September 2007.

Why admit men?

"Enrollment,'' England said. "We want to get up over 1,000, and we're now at 625.''

England said there are now only 58 women's colleges in the U.S. -- 18 of them Catholic -- down from 300 thirty years ago. Regis already admits men as graduate students.

"Times have changed,'' England said. "Juniors and seniors in high school today do not want to go to single-sex colleges.''

Emmanuel College, a Catholic college in Boston that made the transition from all-women to co-educational in 2000, now claims to be one of the fastest growing colleges in the nation, and has more than tripled its enrollment in five years, England said.

"I hope I can get some kind of wisdom, or light, here,'' she said. "This is a break from the day-to-day, for a time of reflection, and I can put my petitions at the feet of the Blessed Mother and ask for her help.''

Mary Jane England
Globe Staff Photo / David Ryan

So David Ryan and I just got back from Malta, and I don't mean the Mediterranean island.

We decided to go say hello to the 49-person Knights of Malta delegation that has flown over here from Boston to attend tomorrow's consistory. The Knights -- a Catholic lay order that claims some non-territorial sovereignty that I haven't quite got my head around -- are best known for their work raising money for the sick and the poor. They are quite fond of Archbishop O'Malley, who has long been supportive of the order, and whose coat of arms features a Maltese cross. (O'Malley said his interest stems from his time as bishop of the Virgin Islands, which once belonged to the Knights of Malta.)

Among the folks I spoke with were Regis College President Dr. Mary Jane England, who is in preparation to become a Dame of Malta (!), James O'Connor, who in addition to being the Boston area chairman of the Knights of Malta is overseeing the Archdiocese of Boston's efforts to balance its budget; and Dr. Roger R. Jean-Charles, who told me he is retiring from teaching internal medicine at Boston University and is splitting his time between Wellesley, Edgartown, and Port-au-Prince.

"I came to Rome from Haiti to attend the consistory, because Sean O'Malley is so supportive of the Haitian community,'' said Jean-Charles, who serves on the board of Catholic Charities in Boston. The doctor cited, as examples, O'Malley's annual New Year's Day Mass, in Haitian Creole, at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross, as well as O'Malley's support for Haitian services at the new Yawkey Center under construction near Upham's Corner in Dorchester. "I thought, in return, we should show our support.''

Back home, the verdict on the archbishop may be mixed, but among these visiting Knights, O'Malley is an unvarnished hero.

"Archbishop Sean is so devoted, this is the least we could do to show we support him,'' O'Connor said.

Travelling with the Knights is their local chaplain, the highly-regarded pastor of St. Paul Church in Cambridge, Monsignor Dennis F. Sheehan. Sheehan is one of the few Boston priests who has been both a leader of the Boston Priests Forum and close to O'Malley, and Sheehan said he views O'Malley's elevation as a clear endorsement by the pope.

"They say the red robes symbolize a willingness to bleed for the church -- well, this man has sweat blood for the church, in Fall River, Palm Beach and here (Boston), mostly due to the sexual abuse scandal,'' Sheehan said. "I think what has happened is that the pope appreciates that Sean O'Malley has always taken difficult assignments, and has suffered for the church. It's an unspoken word to the people of Boston that their archbishop is highly regarded.'

By the way, we caught up with the Knights and Dames and their friends on Aventine Hill, at the famous Knights of Malta Keyhole, which is a keyhole that tourists peek through to spy, through a carefully sculpted archway of trees, an unobstructed view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. You're standing in Italy, looking through Knights of Malta-land, and seeing the Vatican, so they claim you're seeing three countries at once. Pretty cool. Here's David's photo:

...that the traffic in Rome is completely insane. I really should know that by now, given the number of times I've been here, but the streets here are just choked with cars and people and obstacles of all forms. I will never complain about Boston traffic again, Big Dig or no. And waves of thunder are now rolling across a darkened midday sky, so I can only imagine what it's going to be like this afternoon.

Outside of Boston, the most significant figure in tomorrow's consistory is, arguably, that of Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun from Hong Kong. He's been a vocal critic of the lack of religious freedom in China, which broke ties with the Vatican 55 years ago. Yesterday, he told reporters the Vatican might be willing to compromise with China on how bishops are appointed there; currently, China and the Vatican appoint different sets of bishops, with the Vatican-approved bishops overseeing an underground, often persecuted, church. There's coverage in today's South China Morning Post, but you have to register to read it.

Meanwhile, in Time magazine, Jeff Israely (a former Globe correspondent!) has a brief interview with the other American cardinal-designate, Archbishop William J. Levada. Levada was archbishop of San Francisco; he is now prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican. He and O'Malley, as the two American cardinals-designate, are to be feted together at a lunch Friday at the North American College, and at a reception at the apostolic palace Friday afternoon. Because of the significance of Levada's Vatican post, he will address the pope, on behalf of all the new cardinals, at tomorrow's consistory.

Happy Thursday morning from Rome, folks. The day has dawned clear and warmish (high 50s) but the forecast still includes a fair amount of wet.

Today all 193 cardinals and cardinals-to-be (the 178 who already have their red hats, at the 15 who are to get them tomorrow) are gathering at the Vatican's Synod Hall for what Pope Benedict XVI has called "a meeting of reflection and prayer.''

The closed-door meeting is to begin at 9:30 a.m., about 30 minutes from now, and to run until 8 p.m. this evening. Some are comparing it to the gatherings the cardinals held daily after the death a year ago of Pope John Paul II, but before the start of the conclave. At those gatherings, cardinals spoke about a variety of issues facing the church.

Archbishop O'Malley says he heads into this day without a particular agenda, but eager to hear what the others have to say. He will be dressed, by the way, the purple zucchetto of a bishop; he has to wait until tomorrow to don the red robes of a cardinal.

Meantime, I need to spend some of today gathering string for stories for the print publication (you remember newspapers, right?) so I'm heading off to meet with some academics at some of the universities here, and I also hope to catch up with some of the 500 friends and family of O'Malley who are coming into town for tomorrow's festivities. Stay tuned, and send feedback to mpaulson@globe.com.