In an unusual Monday papal audience, Pope Benedict XVI gathered with the new cardinals in the Paul VI audience hall to greet not only the prelates but their families and friends.

For Baltimore Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, his cheering squad had been in Rome for nearly a week. Members of the Order, old military friends, faithful from Baltimore and other fans signed up for a pilgrimage to be part of the consistory festivities.

The pope urged the crowd to continue to support the cardinals. By a show of applause -- when Cardinal O’Brien or New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan waved to the crowd or stood and walked a few steps -- they continued to show that support.

From there, the pilgrims made their way two blocks down Via della Conciliazione, the main street, to the headquarters of the Order. The 15th-century palace, filled with art, artifacts and artists, was a good spot for people watching.

Knights and Dames of the Order came, clergy from Baltimore and elsewhere, as well as friends of the cardinal, former military, and four All Saints Sisters of the Poor from Catonsville, Md. They rubbed elbows with local community notables, counts and hierarchy.

Later, at the North American College, a final Mass for the pilgrims was the first public Mass celebrated by the new cardinal.

He began his homily with a joke about a boy who was sleeping late on a Sunday when his mother came in to wake him up. He said he didn’t want to go to church because they don’t like him and he doesn’t like them.

His mother told him she had two good reasons he should get up and go to church. One, because he was 40, and the second because he was the pastor.

The cardinal’s sense of humor and caring demeanor will be missed by his flock in the U.S. With a smile, saved for special moments, and the gift of an occasional quick wink, the cardinal will settle into what he calls “a family here that is part of my new life.”

“I pledge to them as I have pledged to flocks one after the other, I am theirs and they are mine,” he said.

During remarks at a banquet the night before, the cardinal thanked his staff and “my beloved predecessor Cardinal John P. Foley. I think of him every day and pray for him every day.”

A stunning portrait of Cardinal Foley, the voice of the pope’s Christmas Midnight Mass for many years, hangs in a salon at the order’s headquarters. Reportedly, the cardinal liked the painting so much he had a copy made for his apartment.

Cardinal O’Brien said the Equestrian Order, which ministers to Christians in the Holy Land, runs “runs hospitals, schools, universities and homes for those who have no place to turn. It is not just a Catholic organization,” he said, noting that most of the people they serve are not Catholics. “We serve everyone.” He urged those gathered to think of the Order as “a very important extension of your faith.”

His faith has taken him his birth in the Bronx, to his service in Vietnam, to the Premier See in Baltimore and now to the Eternal City. Quite a career to watch, with the best yet to come.