In a nod to the past, O'Malley becomes titular head of parish

ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI yesterday assigned Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston as the titular head of a parish directly across the street from the church overseen by O'Malley's predecessor, Cardinal Bernard F. Law.

The practice of assigning cardinals titular churches dates from the early days of the Catholic Church, when popes were advised by the clergy of Rome. Today, the pope's advisers are cardinals who live around the world, but in a nod to the past, each cardinal is assigned a parish in the diocese of Rome.

In a strange development reflecting little known church rules, Law, who resigned as archbishop of Boston over the sexual abuse scandal, remains titular head of the American parish in Rome, Santa Susanna, a church with historic ties to Boston, even though Law now lives in Rome and serves as archpriest of another church in town, the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

As a result, Benedict decided to give O'Malley a different church, Santa Maria della Vittoria, which happens to be across the street.

As a practical matter, the cardinals often wind up responsible for raising money at home to assist their titular parishes, because Roman churches are often poorly attended.

Law's church was previously overseen by Cardinals Humberto S. Medeiros and Richard J. Cushing of Boston. Cushing named a parish in Dedham, Saint Susanna, after his Roman parish; the Rome church also features a pipe organ dedicated to former Massachusetts governor John A. Volpe.

O'Malley's new church is a small Italian congregation in a 17th-century building best known as the home of one of the most important Baroque sculptures in Rome, Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila. O'Malley said he had visited the church years ago, but would now schedule a return trip to Rome to formally take possession of the parish, as the ritual is known. ''I haven't been to that church for a long time, but as I remember it, it is a very beautiful church, and it's very famous for the Bernini statue," he said.

The church's pastor, the Rev. Stefano Guernelli, visited briefly yesterday with O'Malley.

''We are very honored that Cardinal O'Malley was appointed to Santa Maria della Vittoria," Guernelli said. ''I just got back from seeing him today at the Vatican, and he seems like a really affable, cordial gentleman, a very human sort of person."

Guernelli said he was pleased that O'Malley is a member of a religious order, the Capuchin Franciscan friars, because the Roman parish is overseen by Discalced Carmelite friars. The parish attracts about 300 worshipers on Sundays, Guernelli said.

The church also has an unusual claim to fame: It is featured in the best-selling Dan Brown novel, ''Angels and Demons," because of the Bernini sculpture, which some viewers have regarded as sexually suggestive. The popularity of the novel has boosted tourist visits.

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.