'It's a beautiful moment'

VATICAN CITY -- Sean Patrick O'Malley, the 61-year-old Capuchin friar handpicked by Pope John Paul II to repair the scandal-wracked Archdiocese of Boston, knelt before Pope Benedict XVI yesterday and received the red hat that signifies his elevation to the highest ranks of the world's largest religious denomination.

Before a cheering crowd of several thousand gathered in St. Peter's Square under overcast skies, O'Malley and 14 other new cardinals were told by the pope they should be prepared to spill their blood for Christianity and should attempt to give ''new life" to both the hierarchy and the laity of the 1-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

The consistory, as the ceremony is called, offered a rare moment of unmitigated joy for Boston's archbishop, who has faced and on several occasions has triggered intense controversy in the beleaguered Archdiocese of Boston, which is still reeling from the sexual-abuse crisis that exploded in 2002.

''I'm excited," a beaming O'Malley told reporters, characterizing himself that way for the first time since arriving in Boston 32 months ago. ''It's a beautiful moment, and I'm very honored to be a part of the College of Cardinals and be able to be part of the Holy Father's ministry, and for all of this to take place at St. Peter's, where St. Peter was buried . . . and where so much of the history of the church over 2,000 years has transpired. It truly is a very moving moment."

The archbishop, who was installed in Boston in July 2003, has been careful not to downplay the enormity of the legal, financial, pastoral, and administrative challenges he faces, but yesterday those issues were set aside for celebration.

The day began with the consistory, held on a platform placed over the steps leading to the iconic facade of the Renaissance basilica. O'Malley, bareheaded, entered the piazza with the other cardinals-designate just before 10:30 a.m. in Rome (4:30 a.m. in Boston), smiling and shaking hands as he walked through the crowd.

''It was sort of exciting to be able to see the people from that perspective and to recognize a lot of old friends and family members and parishioners who were there in the crowd," O'Malley said. More than 500 people traveled to Rome to witness O'Malley's elevation, including about 60 family members, at least 20 Capuchin friars, parishioners from his time as a priest in Washington and as a bishop in the Virgin Islands, Fall River, Mass., Palm Beach, Fla., and Boston, and ''children that I had baptized that are now bigger than I am," he said.

At the height of the ceremony, the pope imposed scarlet birettas on the heads of the cardinals. O'Malley walked alone up the final steps to the pope's throne, where he knelt at Benedict's feet, greeted the pontiff in his native German, and then accepted the biretta, a papal bull in Latin, a blessing (also in Latin) and an embrace.

At the close, each of the new cardinals gave a kiss of peace to all of the other cardinals; among those embraced by O'Malley was his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who resigned as archbishop of Boston over his role in the sexual abuse scandal and who now lives in Rome as archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The day was filled with the pomp and color of Roman Catholic ritual, with ancient roots and modern variations. O'Malley, normally seen in the brown hooded habit of his Capuchin Franciscan religious order, acknowledged being less than comfortable in his red robes and could be seen shifting his biretta on his head as he left the pope's side.

But, at the close of the week in which he has increasingly displayed his wry sense of humor, he proudly pulled up his cassock to show reporters his new red socks and said, ''At least nobody can doubt my sports affiliation now, with the Red Sox."

But, he said, he would continue to wear his simple habit around town. ''I'm anxious to get back to my uniform," he said.

Asked whether he was still wearing anything Franciscan yesterday, he paused, chuckled, and said, ''the beard." And asked what he was thinking during the ceremony, O'Malley said, ''I was praying that the Lord would help me to be able to take on this role and to serve the church well."

Becoming a cardinal will not change O'Malley's daily duties. He will remain archbishop of Boston, overseeing a sprawling diocese with 295 parishes and a population that the church puts at 2 million Catholics.

But he will also take on greater responsibilities to the global church that will require more travel. He will be appointed to serve on committees overseeing parts of the Vatican bureaucracy and will be expected to speak or lead worship at various church events around the world.

''All of it becomes more intense," Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, of Washington, said in an interview. ''You have to participate in some of the Roman entities [committees]. 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."

Among the 15 new cardinals were three of note: William J. Levada, now prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican; Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun of Hong Kong, a vocal advocate for religious freedom in China; and Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, who was John Paul II's longtime secretary.

As a result of yesterday's consistory, there are now 193 cardinals, of whom 120 are under age 80, the age limit for voting in any election to choose a new pope.

After the consistory, O'Malley traveled up the Janiculum Hill to the North American College, a residence for American seminarians in Rome, where he and Levada, who is the former archbishop of San Francisco, were honored at a reception for 1,000 guests. The event was supposed to be outside, but had to be moved indoors because of rain; the menu, meatless because it was a Friday during Lent, included a cheese omelet, penne al salmone, buttered carrots, and Italian pastries.

O'Malley met with reporters from Boston for the third time in four days, reflecting a striking change in his media strategy. His staff, which has often felt under siege by Boston journalists, had urged O'Malley to be more accessible this week, and aides have clearly been surprised and pleased by the heavy coverage the consistory has received.

Several local television stations, as well as Boston.com, covered yesterday's ceremony live.

''We appreciate that the media made it possible for the Catholics and the community in Boston to be able to participate by means of your television and papers and radio," O'Malley told the reporters.

In the afternoon, O'Malley and other new cardinals were feted with a reception at the apostolic palace, the pope's house, where they greeted long lines of well-wishers gathered in Baroque halls. In the evening, O'Malley went to dinner with about 50 members of his extended family.

Although O'Malley is a controversial figure at home, both because of his handling of the closings of 62 parishes and because of his hard-line stands on divisive issues of sexuality, those who traveled here to witness his elevation spoke of him as a warm, supportive, intelligent man and an effective bishop.

First in line at the apostolic palace was Bruno M. Damiani, a professor at the Catholic University of America. Damiani directed O'Malley's doctoral dissertation years ago, and said: ''I'm not surprised he's here. He was always an extraordinary gentleman."

Dr. Roger R. Jean-Charles of Haiti and Massachusetts said he traveled to Rome from Port-au-Prince ''because Sean O'Malley is so supportive of the Haitian community."

''I thought, in return, we should show our support," he said.

The events continue through Monday. Today, at a liturgy called the Mass of the Rings, O'Malley will receive a cardinal's ring from Pope Benedict XVI; tomorrow O'Malley plans to say Mass for visiting Americans at the North American College; and Monday, after a papal reception for the new cardinals, O'Malley plans to have lunch with visitors from Fall River and dinner with Capuchin friars.

The archdiocese is still finalizing plans for local celebrations of the cardinal in Boston, but O'Malley said he is planning to say a series of Masses throughout the archdiocese at which he will talk about his new role.

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