Vacancy for a new Papal MC

[keitha]

Mgr Guido Marini, until now Papal Master of Ceremonies, has been appointed as Bishop of Tortona Diocese - see https://press.vatican.va/content/salast ... 0829a.html.

[Southern Comfort]

A bit like chess. Viola moves from Tortona to be no. 2 at CDW in Rome — Marini moves from Rome to Tortona. To mix metaphors, one can't help feeling one is watching a piece of the jigsaw dropping into place.

[alan29]

Would I be right in thinking that a Papal MC carries a lot of clout beyond controlling errant altar servers?

[Southern Comfort]

Would I be right in thinking that a Papal MC carries a lot of clout beyond controlling errant altar servers?

Yes. You have a great deal of personal access to the pope. You have a team of 7 or 8 assistant MCs. You run the office for celebrations at which the pope presides, which means liaising with the Prefect of the Papal Household, the people who maintain the Vatican websites, etc. You are also responsible for the Sistine Chapel Choir since the reorganisation a couple of years ago in the wake of the financial scandal when the Sistine travel treasurer absconded with the funds. (Something similar also happened in the very early years of the SSG — it was touch-and-go whether the Society would survive.) You are automatically made a Monsignor if you aren't already one.