Latest news with #Sirico
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Priest in Rome looks eerily similar to very famous actor – and it's his brother
Eagle-eyed conclave watchers were quick to spot that one of the priests in Rome for the start of voting for the new Pope looked eerily similar to the star of an iconic crime TV series The conclave gathered again today in Rome to vote on Pope Francis' successor. And with all eyes on the Vatican, there's one priest in Rome who might be used to the cameras thanks to his very famous brother. Voting for the new Pope will continue as black smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel last night and this morning, but not all attention has been on the chimney. Some eagle-eyed viewers were quick to notice a familiar looking clergyman, Italian-American Catholic priest Father Robert Sirico, in Rome for the ancient proceedings this week, who looks oddly similar to a TV legend. Father Sirico's younger sibling was the late Tony Sirico, famous for his role as Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri in iconic mob crime series The Sopranos. The Italian-American brothers grew up in a Catholic household in the East Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn, in New York City. People watching the news spotted the similarities between the two brothers, while Father Sirico, co-founder of the Christian think tank Acton Institute, gave his thoughts on the conclave. The brothers, who took wildly different paths in life, remained close friends. Actor Tony died in 2022 and Father Robert announced his passing with an emotional tribute, saying: "It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony 'Tony' Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022." He added: "I sensed that the end was coming. So as we sat in a private location, I pulled out a Confessional Stole from my pocket. I looked into his eyes and I said, 'How about that confession?' My brother agreed and I did one of the most significant things a priest can do for another human being. I absolved him of all of his sins." Tony also made appearances in other iconic films like The Godfather: Part II and So Fine. Before his big break, the priest's brother had several run-ins with the law and was arrested 28 times including charges like robbery to assault and gun possession. Father Robert however went straight into religion but had initially stepped away from Catholicism in his youth and explored the Pentecostal Church in the 1970s. The priest made headlines when he came out as gay and he later returned to the Catholic Church. Cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel again this morning for more rounds of votes after their first secretive meeting failed to select a new Pope to lead the Catholic Church. The group of 133 cardinals did not reach a decision again, and more voting is scheduled for this afternoon.
South China Morning Post
04-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen is more welcome in Hong Kong than Rome
Never assume, North American teachers of my generation supposedly liked to tell their students, because it makes an ASS-of-U-and-ME. Advertisement Perhaps Father Robert Sirico, now well into his seventies, has forgotten that sound piece of advice. The influential US Catholic author and educator has counselled local firebrand Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, who is in Rome after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, to 'defect'. Seriously, are we still in the Soviet era? 'His defection would also signal to Hong Kong's beleaguered Catholics that their struggle isn't forgotten,' Sirico wrote in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). What beleaguered struggle? The city's Catholics, among them at least two former chief executives of the Hong Kong SAR and countless senior civil servants – and yours truly used to be a Catholic too – are no happier or unhappier than their brethren in the United States. Sirico should have first checked with the Hong Kong diocese about the religious state of the city before mouthing off in the WSJ, which of course, runs anything anti-China. Advertisement 'I haven't consulted Cardinal Zen on this, but as a priest and friend of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement,' he wrote, 'I urge him to stay in Rome. His presence in the Vatican would serve as a powerful rebuke to Beijing's oppression and a beacon of hope for the faithful.' He really should have asked first. Perhaps the learned clergyman from America has read too much WSJ and its kind of journalism, rather than diversifying to try Italian, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese publications, including this newspaper. And no, I don't mean my own biased opinion pieces but the far more objective and excellent reporting by my news colleagues.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
West Michigan priest in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan Catholic leader is in Rome as people pay their final respects to Pope Francis, who died Monday at age 88. Rev. Robert Sirico, pastor emeritus of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Parish in Grand Rapids and co-founder of the Acton Institute, said he was also in Rome when Pope John Paul II died. 'I remember distinctly, they call it the translation of the body into the basilica. And in many ways it was similar. In other ways, it was very different, because remember that Francis was housed in the Casa Santa Marta, which is on the opposite side of the piazza … and so they brought the body in from that end,' Sirico recounted. 'It wasn't quite as dramatic as the translation of John Paul II, but it was very moving and very opportune that they had just finished the renovation, the restoration of the basilica for this year, which is a Jubilee Year.' Pope Francis' funeral is set for Saturday following three days of public viewing. After the funeral, nine days of official mourning follow. Catholic faithful pay their final respects to Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica 'There are going to be a series of masses in the coming days and, especially after he is buried, a series of meetings called congregations. And these are where all the cardinals in the world — both those that are voting in the conclave, which will be about 134 of them, but even the older cardinals will come. And they will get to know each other a little more than they do presently,' Sirico said. 'Pope Francis appointed a lot of cardinals from outside of Europe, so these are cardinals from the periphery and they haven't had a chance to get to know one another. So these nine days of prayers, masses and discussions are going to be very important before they go into conclave.' Sirico believes those who are hoping for another leader like Pope Francis 'are going to be disappointed.' 'My intuition is that they are going to choose somebody who is going to want to let the dust settle, because this has been an exciting and turbulent pontificate in many ways, very untraditional, uncharacteristic,' he said. 'As I say, many beautiful gestures of love and acceptance of people, but in many other ways, there are a lot of questions that are left.' Sirico said there is polarization in both the church and the world. 'What I'm hoping is that we have somebody who leads the church who can help calm some of those passions and get us really, honestly talking with one another again,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
West Michigan Catholics watch as pope remains hospitalized
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Local faith leaders are guiding Catholic worshippers through uncertainty as Pope Francis' health remains tenuous. 'There's of course a certain sadness,' Rev. Robert Sirico, pastor emeritus of in Grand Rapids, said. 'You have a father in his final days, probably. So there is concern.' The Diocese of Grand Rapids and are turning to prayer as they consider daily updates on the pope's battle with double pneumonia. Pope Francis shows slight improvement as he battles pneumonia Sirico recently helped the city's youngest parishioners begin to sort through their feelings. '(Grand Rapids Diocese) Bishop (David) Walkowiak has asked all Catholic parishes to be in prayer for the Holy Father. There's a lot of rosaries that have been led,' Sirico told News 8. 'I just came from Mass with the children. I talked to them about losing a parent and needing to be close to him in prayer. So the children are praying for him.' For some, the distinctive style and politics of Pope Francis make dealing with his potential passing complicated. 'I think his legacy is yet to be determined,' Sirico said. 'It is true that this is a very distinctive pontificate. What he did in any formal statement having to do with doctrine or hot-button issues was always to affirm the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church, but what he attempted to do was reach out with great compassion to people who would feel alienated by that message. In doing so, I think Francis emulated the example of Christ. It's no secret a lot of people disagreed with a lot (he) said or did, but even then, there is an affection for the role he has played and the good he has attempted to do.' 'Old and new coming together': Former home of Dominican Sisters becomes senior housing Last year, Pope Francis made changes to the traditional burial rites for a pope. He moved to eliminate the requirement for three coffins of cypress, lead and oak as well as the elevated bier for public viewing. He instead elected to be viewed in a simple, zinc-lined wooden coffin at ground level. He will also be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. He said the changes are to reflect and emphasize the Roman pontiff's funeral is that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ, and not of a powerful man of this world. None of those proceedings will begin, though, until the mourning bell at Saint Peter's Basilica is rung. For now, Catholics continue to pray. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
