BCI came across this and is passing it along for your information.
Do you sincerely hope that the Church will be granted a worthy successor: a rock of faith, a leader open to the Holy Spirit, a pope prayerful and holy?
Do you, as an important part of the Body of Christ, wish to contribute through the power of your prayers so that the Holy Spirit may guide, protect and enlighten our Cardinals when they determine the next successor of St. Peter?
You have the opportunity to be a part of this providential endeavor by having a Cardinal assigned to you, who you will support through your prayer and intercession during the coming days before and during the conclave and for three days following the election.
Click here to adopt a cardinal. A cardinal’s name will be randomly assigned to you.
Boston Catholic Insider 
I hate to be cynical but who is behind collecting the 386690 Catholic e-mail addresses? BCI? What for? Can’t we just pray for a Cardinal without having someone else “randomly” assign one to us? Possibly innocent, but I think those e-mail addresses are valuable to someone.
Michael,
Your cynicism (or skepticism) is understandable. We checked it out before posting it. We believe there is no cause for suspicion. Here is a piece that further explains the effort:
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/298529/lifestyle/culture/adopt-a-cardinal-or-place-your-bets-for-papal-conclave
…the genuine faithful may prefer to sign up at adoptacardinal.org, which encourages Catholics to pray for individual elector cardinals who are randomly chosen by the website and has proven hugely popular.
More than 350,000 people have chosen to adopt a cardinal so far and the website has an official blessing after the cardinals themselves discussed it at one of their pre-conclave meetings this week.
“The cardinals need to be prayed for,” said Ulli Heckl, a 37-year-old from southern Germany who is one of the creators of the website and a member of Youth 2000, an international Catholic movement that is backing the site.
Heckl said there had been huge interest from parishes, religious congregations and even old people’s homes where many have been concentrating their prayers on a particular cardinal to help him make the right choice.
What a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion. I registered and have the name of my Cardinal (George). Hope all will sign up it is so easy. Thanks for the suggestion.
It would be interesting to know the source of this request.
I have adopted Cardinal Fernando Filoni. He is a fascinating man – doctorates in Philosophy and Canon Law and has been a career diplomat, and is an expert on China and the Middle East. He is currently Prefect for the Congregation on the Evangelization of Peoples, and became a Cardinal last April.
Thanks for linking us to this website. I don’t see any need for cynicism here. The cardinals need our prayers. I’ll be praying for Cardinal Filoni. Maybe he will be the next pope!
Anni
We checked with the organizers of the Adopt a Cardinal site. They will delete the email addresses after the campaign. It is really OK.
I have adopted Cardinal Ennio Antonelli and ironically he could not be a better match to me in so many ways, right down to geographic lineage. I would support this man. He sounds well grounded, politically savvy, reasonable, moderate, and kind, aside from his academic and clerical profile.
“John Allen writes about Cardinal Ennio Antonelli: “…a smiling, humble, pastoral Italian completely extraneous to the world of Vatican power and intrigue. Antontelli was the bishop of Gubbio, in Umbria, and then the archbishop of Perugia before becoming secretary of the Italian bishops’ conference in 1995. He is a patron of the arts and was the driving force behind a well-received adult catechism. He has a reputation for terrific relations with his people, and lukewarm relations with the Roman curia. He is generally seen as a moderate, with a strong interest in social justice and peace issues. His lack of interest in cracking heads over doctrinal issues became clear during Italian political campaigns in the 1990s, when some people wanted church leaders to condemn Catholic politicians who are divorced. Antonelli took the view that personal morality belongs to the private sphere, and that in terms of politics, the church should be more concerned with a politician’s voting record…”. Cardinal Antonelli said before entering the 2005 conclave: “The new pope has already been chosen by the Lord. We just have to pray to understand who he is!””
I do believe the Holy Spirit is in the Conclave directing the vote of who will be our next Pope. I pray for this individual to do God’s work on earth and protect the tenants of our faith and the Church worldwide from the evil caused by politicans who call themselves Catholic but are far removed from practicing the tenants of the faith. I do believe that for the good of the church these individuals should be called to task for their actions. Then, if they don’t adhere, they should lose the opportunity to receive Holy Communion, as it is a terrible insult to Our Lord and Saviour. They spit in His face and then present themselves for Holy Communion, no that isn’t right and it’s the church’s responsibility to call them out on this, privately if not publically.
Jane
Bravo, Jane Collins!
Jane,
Who lobs the fouler phlegm?
The public sinners or the anonymous Catholic using birth control?
A positively exquisite photo of our Cardinal on Pewsitter.com.
A international PR slam dunk.
buzz- who it the guy with the beard – buzz.
I got Cardinal Mahoney. Wow.
Well, he does need prayers! As we all do!
True!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!