Ambassador Glendon, your one year mandate as US Ambassador to the Holy See just expired and you have just returned to your home in the United States. What are your feelings now? A bit saddened?
Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon: It was an enormous privilege to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See during a period when relations between the United States and the Vatican were so close. And of course I will miss my friends in Rome. But it's also a great feeling to be returning to my vocation of teaching and scholarship with so many first-hand experiences to draw upon. For someone like me who works in the field of international studies, it was a dream come true to witness diplomacy in action as practiced by the outstanding members of the Holy See diplomatic corps.
How did you come to know that your mandate would not be confirmed or extended? Were you told so (and by whom, if I may ask) or was it your personal decision?
Ambassador Glendon: When a new U.S. President is elected, it is customary for all Ambassadors who were political appointees of the outgoing administration to be asked to submit their resignations prior to Inauguration Day. The notification that was sent to us after the November election specified a procedure to be followed by Ambassadors who wished to apply for an extension of their term. But I was satisfied with what I had been able to accomplish during my tenure, and I was eager to get back to my home, my library, and my writing projects. So I sent in my resignation to be effective in time to be on the premises for the spring semester at Harvard Law School.
Can you briefly mention some of the most notable highlights of your work in Rome?
Ambassador Glendon: There are so many images that will always be fixed in my mind-the liturgies in St. Peter's, so expressive of the universal nature of the Church, the Memorial Day services at Nettuno, where more than 7,000 American soldiers lie buried, and of course the exchange of visits between President Bush and Pope Benedict XVI. The first part of my term was much taken up with planning for the Pope's historic journey to the United States in April 2008. It was an unforgettable experience to be at the airport with the President as he welcomed the Pope, calling him "the greatest spiritual leader in the world."
Then, two months later, President Bush came to the Vatican where he was given an equally extraordinary welcome. Heads of state are usually received in the formal setting of the Apostolic Palace, but on this occasion the meeting between the Pope and the President took place in a picturesque tower overlooking the Vatican Gardens and was followed by a stroll to another idyllic spot where they were serenaded by the Sistine Chapel choir.
In your last "farewell" meeting with the Holy Father, what was the special message, if any, that he conveyed to you?
Ambassador Glendon: Well, it was really more of a "goodbye and welcome back" meeting, since I travel to Rome regularly in connection with my work for the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, a body that reports directly to the Pope. Perhaps it was only my imagination, but I had the impression when the Holy Father asked me about my future plans that he sometimes misses the tranquil life he enjoyed as a professor.
