CNN.com - Alessio Vinci: Power outage doesn't deter pope

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Electrical power to almost all of Italy failed early Sunday, a problem blamed on lines that deliver power from France that were damaged by a storm. The entire country -- with the exception of the island of Sardinia -- lost power at some point. Officials reported eight hours later that electricity

On The Scene

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Electrical power to almost all of Italy failed early Sunday, a problem blamed on lines that deliver power from France that were damaged by a storm.

The entire country -- with the exception of the island of Sardinia -- lost power at some point. Officials reported eight hours later that electricity had been restored to 90 percent of the country.

The power outage did not deter Pope John Paul II from naming more than two dozen new cardinals -- including an American archbishop -- in an apparent attempt to influence the group which will choose his successor.

CNN Correspondent Alessio Vinci is in Rome and filed the following report:

VINCI: The power has been restored in most parts of the country. First it came back in northern Italy, then it came in some areas of the south, and now within the last hour, also here in the capital of Rome.

Now, because this power outage took place at 3:30 in the morning, most people around the country, of course, were asleep, except here, in Rome, where there was a large overnight festival that the city had organized called White Nights.

And so there were hundreds of thousands of people -- some even say 1 million were out there -- when the power outage took place. But there was no major disruption, except for those who remained stuck in subways and elevators. Overall, given the fact that the entire country was in darkness, there were no reports of any major incidents connected to the blackout.

Power officials are telling us that the reason for the blackout was two main lines bringing electricity from France into Italy that went down simultaneously, an event that is very rare.

Within a few hours, one of those lines was partially restored, according to power officials, while the other one remains down. Power officials are trying to establish whether the breakdown occurred in Italy or on the French side of the border.

Now, the power outage did not deter Pope John Paul II in the Vatican from announcing the appointment of 31 new cardinals. The men will be made cardinals on October 21 here in St. Peter's.

Among them is the archbishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Justin Rigali. Perhaps there was a bit of a disappointment Sunday in Boston, Massachusetts, because local Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley was not on the pope's list of new cardinals.

There had been some speculation before Sunday's announcement that this new list of cardinals would take place in October because of the 83-year-old pope's frail health.

As a matter of fact, there had been a lot of talk about such an announcement months ago, even before recent reports that the pope has been feeling ill.

So, all the cardinals will be invited here to Rome on October 16 both to celebrate the pope's 25th anniversary as head of the Roman Catholic Church and to attend the making of 31 new cardinals.


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