Priests aplenty

Atop the Bernini colonnade this a.m., I ran into the Rev. Robert Reed, the director of Boston Catholic Television, which has been providing heavy coverage of the week's events.

Reed told me that there are about 20 Boston priests in town for the consistory, and a group of them went out last night in Trastevere to talk about how things are going in Boston and the church. He said they had an animated discussion, felt cheered by the positive energy being communicated by Cardinal O'Malley, and rued not having more talks among priests back in the diocese.

"It seems like maybe finally we're going to get our act together,'' he said. "Things have been hard, but the archbishop seems very upbeat, and things are really looking up here.''

Reed and I tried to come up with a list of local priests we've seen in town; we couldn't come up with a complete roster, but here's a partial tally: the Rev. Brian Bachand, who is the cardinal's secretary; Rev. David J. Barnes, pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Beverly; Auxiliary Bishop John P. Boles, Rev. Robert E. Casey, the pastor of Gate of Heaven in South Boston; Rev. John J. Connolly, rector of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross; Rev. James R. Flavin, pastor of St. Edith Stein in Brockton; Monsignor William M. Helmick, pastor of St. Theresa of Avila in West Roxbury, and his brother, Rev. Raymond Helmick, a professor of theology at Boston College; Rev. Daniel Hennessey, vocations director; Rev. Brian Kiely, pastor of St. Patrick in Natick; Rev. Jason Makos, who is studying here at the North American College; Rev. Michael Medas, of the deaf apostolate; Rev. Paul B. O'Brien, pastor of St. Patrick in Lawrence; Rev. Kevin J. O'Leary, pastor of St. Peter in Cambridge; Rev. Robert Reed, director of Boston Catholic Television; Rev. John J. Ronaghan, pastor of St. Ann in Wollaston; and Monsignor Dennis F. Sheehan, pastor of St. Paul in Cambridge.