An Interview with Cardinal Fratelli ~
“Good afternoon, Your Eminence, how are you?"
“I am very well, thank you.
“It’s
the perfect day for this interview, don’t you think?
“Oh yes indeed."
“So,
let’s get started. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?”
“Well, I was born on April 6th, 1801.
My mother’s name was Maria and my father’s was Francesco. It was my aunt
Francine, who decided to name me “Angelo” after the angel who announced the
birth of Christ to Mary.”
“So,
were you raised very religious?”
“I would say yes. My parents took me to Mass
every day and when I turned 7, I began serving at the altar. It was delightful
learning all the prayers and gestures.”
“Is
this when you wanted to be a priest?”
“Before I was 10 years old, I didn’t really
think about much of anything like that. I didn’t get along with the other boys
because I was overweight. They teased me. I think I just wanted to get away and
our parish church provided a safe haven.”
“How
was your relationship with the priest there?”
“Very good! Father Paolo was rather impressed
with my intelligence and ability to learn. When some of the other altar-boys
began taunting me…for the usual reasons…Father placed me in charge of them.
They did not like this at all! I remember one of their parents complained that
I was “too young” to be leading at the altar and Father Paolo replied: “If your
son spent more time serving and less time fooling around, he would be up there
instead."
“Did you have any
friends your age?”
“Yes, sometimes I played with the postman’s
son, his name was Vincent, but my best friend was Michele, a girl who lived
next door to me. All the other boys left me alone when she was around. At least
they were taught to be polite around a lady.”
“How
old were you then?”
“I was about 9.”
“Is
it true you were sweethearts?”
“Well, I would not say it like that. We cared for
eachother and were just friends."
“But
she did kiss you on the cheek once?”
“Well…yes.”
“Tell
us about your parents. Didn’t they die when you were fairly young? How did this
affect you?”
“Francesco died first, in a riding accident
when I was 11 years old. It was horrible. Maria died two years later, they say
of a broken heart, but I believe she was fighting an illness. I was so sad! My
aunt, Francine took me in to live with my three cousins, Iona, Francesca and
Philomena. But, I was still very lonely. They played many girlish games I
didn’t care for. Michelle did visit- but to be honest, I was rather jealous
that she played along with them.”
“What was Francine
like? Did you two always have such a tense relationship?”
“Francine was loving and kind to me. She
provided whatever I asked. We had a wonderful relationship. However, when I
turned 14, she began urging for me to court Michele. I complied and dated
Michele for a year but felt unhappy- as if I were being controlled.”
“Didn’t
you have any feelings for Michele?”
“I truly did. But I wanted to do things in my
own time. The prospect of experiencing romance at such a young age made me awfully
nervous. Back then, people married young so it wasn’t unusual… I just suppose I
was different.”
“How
were you different?”
“I didn’t want to marry. Since my parents
died, I grew very religious and spent a lot of time at the church, working and
helping with various things. I just didn’t think about marriage and Francine
pushed it on me."
“How
could she expect a 15 year old to think about marriage?"
“Our whole family thought about it. Iona
married at age 16. She had her first baby while I was still living in
Francine’s house. You must remember, my family had a lot of wealth and
influence. Marriages amongst the aristocracy were seen as vital, especially
when the couple was young… I suppose best before they got older and
opinionated.”
“So,
where did your vocation figure into all of this?”
“I didn’t know when I was 17 and Michele, 15,
Francine had already begun planning a wedding. I’d come home from morning Mass,
filled with godly joy and told her that I wished to spend my life in the
church. Merciful goodness, she was so upset! She told me that I was unsuitable
for priesthood, that no seminary would take me until I turned 18 and that all
the family’s hopes would be devastated. I don’t believe she meant to hurt me by
saying these things. She was very angry.”
“What
about Michele?”
“She
took it much better. After being upset for a few days, she came back and wished
me well. I even told her that she wouldn’t have much trouble finding a husband
as she was very beautiful.”
“Did
you ever regret not marrying her?”
“For a short time…however, I’d fallen
hopelessly in love with the Lord.”
Character interviews are such a great excersize to flesh out back stories, personality quirks and the general voice of the character. This is great! I should do some character interviews :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I appreciate your comment. I need to get my lazy behind in gear and write the third part to this interview...
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