Pope Benedict XVI: The Bear Has Arrived

Cardinals have crests for their flags. Apparently, the crest of then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger contains the odd if not striking image of a bear carrying a pack upon its back. Pope Benedict XVI was inspired to choose this iconography because it represents, as the story goes, a saint who was on his way to Rome on horseback to deliver important documents. Along the dangerous path, the saint was attacked by a bear, who mauled and slayed the saint's horse. The saint whereupon chastised the bear for killing his horse, and then commanded the bear to carry the documents to Rome in the horse's stead. As a brilliant and key theological advisor during Vatican II in the 1960s, and as the right hand man of Pope John Paul II, then Cardinal Ratzinger was known as the kind of guy who delivers the documents–the Truth. We can't help but wonder how much our new Holy Father relates to the undaunted and resourceful saint in the story–and, perhaps, how much he relates to the penitent and burden-carrying bear.