Clemente Cardinal Micara in Cologne

In an earlier post I wrote about Clemente Cardinal Micara and the impact he made on the people of Cologne when he came to the still war torn town on occasion of the 700 year anniversary of the cathedral in 1948 (The faithful called it "The red feast" because of all the cardinals who participated in the ceremonies).

I once met an old lady, who was there in 1948. She told me that "If you don't count the Divine persons, the cute fat Italian guy definitely was the star" (She had forgotten his name).

Here are some more pictures from these days:


The Cardinal arrives (killer car in the back!)


Same day, same occasion, but suddenly the cushion on the kneeler is gone.


Walking in procession. You can see how messed up Cologne still was in these years.


You can also see how many of the thousands of people who wanted to get a glimpse of the cardinal even climbed the heaps of rubble.


The procession, again.


Under a canopy with Joseph Cardinal Frings to the right (and in the shade).


"It would be so un-Christian, but if this guy doesn't lay off my rochet, I'm afraid I will have to smack him!"


"That's all, folks!"