It was at the very end of a routine Sept. 19 meeting in Rome when
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern
Churches, announced one more item to discuss.
Reading
from a letter in Latin from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state
for the Holy See, Cardinal Sandri revealed to applause that two members
of his staff had been elevated by the pope to the status of
“monsignor.”
One of those receiving the honorary title was Monsignor
McClean Cummings, a 50-year-old priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
who has ministered at the Congregation for Eastern Churches five years.
“The
first thing one thinks of is, ‘Now I have to get a new cassock,’” joked
Monsignor Cummings in an Oct. 17 telephone interview from Rome. “Those
things are expensive!”
Becoming serious,
Monsignor Cummings said he was honored by the conferral of the title,
noting that although it is not “automatic,” priests who work in the
Roman Curia or the Vatican’s diplomatic service generally receive the
title after five years of service. Monsignor Cummings will be known as a
“Chaplain to his Holiness,” and will wear a black cassock with purple
buttons.
In 2014, the pope announced he would
not name monsignors for priests under age 65 unless they work for
certain ministries of the Holy See.
At the
Congregation for Eastern Churches, Monsignor Cummings works mostly
with the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Church in
India. He is responsible for administrative tasks related to church
functions that need approval from the Holy See.
“The
congregation does everything that the Eastern churches need the Holy
Father’s approval for,” Monsignor Cummings explained. Those tasks could
range from simply validating that a priest has permission to celebrate
Mass in more than one ritual or they could be more complicated –
approving the statutes of a new religious congregation or changes in the
liturgy, for example.
Ordained in 1998 by
Cardinal William H. Keeler, Monsignor Cummings served as associate
pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park until 2002. From 2002
to 2007, he ministered in Russia, serving one year as the spiritual
director at a seminary in St. Petersburg and the rest of the time
assisting the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mary Mother of God in
Moscow and working in parishes. He lived with the Missionaries of
Charity in Russia for four years.
“It was a
challenge to learn Russian,” Monsignor Cummings remembered, “but it
wasn’t as hard as you might think. Russian is actually a very logical
language.”
Monsignor Cummings returned to
Baltimore in 2009 after completing doctoral studies in moral theology in
Rome. He served as associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in
Ellicott City and assisted at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg
until 2011.
In addition to his administrative
work in Rome, Monsignor Cummings has assisted at a local parish and the
ancient monastery known as the Abbey of Sarsa. He also celebrates Masses
for the Missionaries of Charity in the Eternal City.
The
youngest of eight children who earned his bachelor’s degree in
philosophy from Harvard University, Monsignor Cummings acknowledged
that he never imagined his priesthood would take him to so many
far-flung places.
“I’ve really been able to experience the universality of the church,” Monsignor Cummings said.
As for his new title, the priest is still getting accustomed to it.