News flash: Benedict reads Hawthorne

One striking feature of this morning's homily at St. Patrick's Cathedral: Pope Benedict XVI made a reference to Nathaniel Hawthorne, the acclaimed 19th century American novelist from Salem, Mass.

Who knew? Benedict is obviously widely read -- he is an accomplished theologian and a prolific writer -- but any fondness for American literature is news to me. But Rachel Zoll, the talented religion writer for the Associated Press and a proud native of Salem, spotted the Hawthorne reference in the homily immediately, and kindly called it to my attention.

Benedict was using the architecture of the cathedral as a metaphor, for reflections on the vocations of the clergy and nuns who make up the congregation today, and, when he turned to the windows, said, "many writers – here in America we can think of Nathaniel Hawthorne – have used the image of stained glass to illustrate the mystery of the church herself."

After the Mass, I promise to go grab a copy of "The Marble Faun" to see what he's talking about.

posted by Michael Paulson, Globe Staff

For all the blog posts on the papal visit, go here.

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