After all, his brother is enjoying la dolce vita in the Algarve, and he is two years younger.

Archbishop O’Brien wasn’t thinking of taking his bus pass and heading into the wide blue yonder, or to join his brother in Portugal, immediately, but perhaps in five years’ time.

He’d have been a priest for 43 years by then, which would qualify most folk for a gold watch and a well-earned rest.

Any such plans have most definitely been scrapped, however, following an early morning phone call last Friday, and Archbishop O’Brien could not be more delighted.

The traditional “solus es?” (are you alone?) demand from the Papal Nuncio left the normally loquacious cleric “absolutely dumbfounded”.

The Nuncio had “good news” for him, and the archbishop felt sure it must be of the much-awaited, and much-needed, appointments of new bishops to the Diocese of Galloway and Aberdeen.

That was not the case, however. But any disappointment that the hierarchy’s workload was not to be eased was somewhat tempered by what the Nuncio did tell him.

Pope John Paul II, he said matter-of-factly, had chosen to make the archbishop a cardinal.

He will be the third Scottish bishop since the Reformation to wear the red hat, following in the distinguished footsteps of his predecessor as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Gordon Gray, and Tom Winning, of Glasgow.

No one is more aware than the new cardinal himself just how big an honour it is for a country the size of Scotland to have a cardinal.

As he says, “There are some parishes in other cities and countries which have bigger Catholic populations than some of our diocese.

“In global terms, or church terms, Scotland is really pretty small beer. I think it is an acknowledgement of the role Edinburgh now has, with the establishment of the Scottish parliament here and an increase in the diplomatic corps.

“It is obviously a great honour for me personally, but it is an honour for our country and I’m sure it will be viewed as that.”

Judging by the volume of mail he has received, and the way the phone at his Edinburgh home has not stopped ringing since the news was made public on Sunday, it is certainly a popular appointment.

He has been “totally amazed” at the reaction to the news, in the Catholic Church in Scotland, from members of other faiths and from those in public life.

“I am astonished at the way people have greeted the news. The reaction in the Cathedral (St Mary’s) the other day was just incredible and very humbling.”

Scotland’s traditional East-West rivalry has manifested itself in the church in recent months as speculation has mounted about who Scotland’s next prince of the church might be.

It was a straight choice, apparently, between Archbishop O’Brien and Archbishop Mario Conti, successor to Cardinal Winning as Archbishop of Glasgow.

Between the two contenders themselves, however, there has been no such competition. Chalk and cheese in personalities, they have been friends for almost 25 years, since Archbishop O’Brien was appointed Rector of Blairs, then Scotland’s Junior Seminary, in 1980.

He is at pains to point out that “Mario’s was the first call I took following news of my appointment. And he couldn’t have been more fulsome in his praise and good wishes.

“He was genuinely delighted that Scotland had a cardinal and I very much appreciate his support and that of my brother bishops.”

As one of Scotland’s leading clergymen for the last 18 years, Archbishop O’Brien is well aware of the influence he can have, both inside and outside the church.

With the red hat comes even more clout, and an awareness that, if people listened before to what he said, they will do so even more attentively now.

With such power comes a great deal of responsibility and he will not shirk from using that as he sees fit, to speak up on behalf of those who themselves have no voice, especially the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised in our society.

He is much less abrasive than Cardinal Winning ever was, more conciliatory in his approach to those of differing views.

He laughs at his portrayal as some trendy, left-wing campaigner: nonetheless there is an openness of approach, an acknowledgement that there are issue — celibacy, gay clergy, married priests, contraception, to name but four — facing the Church which need to be debated.

He says, “There is no way I am advocating a new line in morality, as some observers have tried to claim. What I have said is that there are issues about which there can be no discussion.

“Marriage and divorce, abortion, there can be no discussion on these, for these are unalterable.

“But other things can change.

“It is a tragedy that there are Catholic communities throughout the world where there is no Mass because of a shortage of priests. We have married deacons who can do everything a priest can do, except say Mass.

“I don’t see why that should not be discussed. There are already married priests working alongside celibate priests and there seems to be no animosity as far as I know.

“In my own archdiocese, I lost a priest because he fell in love and got married. And I have to say I did ask myself why he couldn’t have been a married priest.

“We would have a very different church, no doubt about that. It wouldn’t be the answer to everything. The Church of Scotland and the Episcopal Church have married clergy and they are facing a recruitment crisis, too.

“I’m not saying we should alter things overnight, but I would happily have them considered and hear what everyone in the church has to say.”

Such discussions will be on the back burner for a while, however, as he prepares for the traditional ceremony at which he will receive his red hat, in Rome this month.

But perhaps the wind of change is already starting to blow.