National Catholic Reporter‘s John Allen conveys well the “democratic” flavor of the reception for new cardinals held this past Saturday at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

I spent an hour and a half in a crowd outside the Bronze Doors waiting to get in. It would have been longer but I tagged along with a group of Iraqi priests and nuns, who proved a match for even the most aggressive Italians at making their way through a line.

Once inside, it really was an incongruous scene: ordinary pilgrims freely mixing with ecclesiastical big shots (“Hey, isn’t that Cardinal Law?”) in grand halls which are ordinarily closed to the public, where the new cardinals waited to receive all comers. Some asked for a blessing, some just wanted to shake hands and get their picture taken with a prince of the church.

Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, a youthful-looking 58 despite the visible presence of a hearing aid, was untiring and affable well past the end of the scheduled two hours. If he hadn’t entered the priesthood, one senses that he could have been a highly successful politician (no offense meant).

Seeing DiNardo in action lends some credibility to the rumor that he is being groomed to replace New York’s Cardinal Egan, who reached the ordinary retirement age of 75 this past April. But that wouldn’t go over well with the Houstonians I met this weekend, who celebrated their archbishop’s elevation with all the pride one usually associates with Texans.