Coolest Conclave Happenings

So we all know the Pope abdicating and the upcoming conclave is a BFD. So we've accordingly had a equally big response to it. Here are some of my favorite responses and activities pertaining to his abdication and the upcoming conclave.

1. My very favorite: Fantasy Conclave. It's like fantasy football but instead of picking players, you pick a cardinal, a date, and his chosen name. I'm not a fantasy football player and not really a fantasy sport fan but I'm making an exception for this. Plus there are prizes for winning and lots of opportunities to learn. When you submit your email, they'll be emailing a fact everyday about the papacy to you.

2. Adopt a Cardinal:  This one isn't as much fun or as flashy as the fantasy conclave but it's such a cool idea. We're relying on these Cardinals to follow the Holy Spirit and elect the next leader of our Church. You can be damn sure the devil is trying to get them to do the exact opposite. So let's take up our cross and offer it for them.  I adopted Cardinal Amigo Vallejo of Spain. If you adopt one let me know who you got and what you're doing for them. I plan to pray, of course, but I'm looking for some new ideas too.


3. ElectingThePope.net Dorian Speed and a group of other Catholic bloggers made this WONDERFUL site. It explains exactly how we elect a pope (hence the very fitting title). It's very comprehensive, very professional looking, and very good at dispelling all the stupid you may be seeing on the news, facebook, twitter, and the like. They did their part in making the site so if you see "the stupid" somewhere, share the page. After all, it's a spiritual work of mercy.

4. The Anchoress suggested in one of her recent posts that Twitter may have helped to hasten the Pope's retirement. At first I thought she was cray cray but the more I thought about it and the more hatred I saw directed at his Twitter account, I came around a bit. So if Twitter could truly have an impact on his retirement, let us make it a good impact. Send him out with a sea of thanks to cover up some of the 'stupid we're bound to see popping up tomorrow.

5. Pope Madness: I can't believe I missed this one. The conclave practically overlaps March Madness and the good people at Envision Tees made a bracket for it, complete with Vegas odds and everything. So this year get into the College Basketball mood early pick your favorites from the College of Cardinals.

 

Did I miss any? What have you seen out there that I overlooked? How are you celebrating?