Now we know where he gets it from.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, well-known for his good sense of humor (among other qualities), introduced his mother to Pope Benedict this weekend, and her exchange with the holy father showed that a lighthearted spirit runs in the family. From the New York Post:

Amid cheers and applause, Dolan walked his mom, Shirley, up to the stage to greet his boss during a papal audience before an enthusiastic crowd inside the Paul VI Hall.

“Holy Father, here is my mom!” Dolan said he told the pope.

Unable to resist the temptation to make a joke, Dolan, 62, pointed out that he’s one of the few princes of the church young enough and lucky enough to still have his mother alive.

“I asked him if he would declare her the first lady of the College of Cardinals,” he said.

Dolan recounted that the pope, who turns 85 in April, then paid his mom the ultimate compliment, telling her, “You look too young to be the mother of a cardinal.”

The cardinal said his mom — showing that a quick wit is a family trait — shot back, “Holy Father, was that an infallible statement?

Kerry Weber joined the staff of America in October 2009. Her writing and multimedia work have since earned several awards from the Catholic Press Association, and in 2013 she reported from Rwanda as a recipient of Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship. Kerry is the author of Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job (Loyola Press) and Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students (Twenty-Third Publications). A graduate of Providence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has previously worked as an editor for Catholic Digest, a local reporter, a diocesan television producer, and as a special-education teacher on the Navajo reservation in Arizona.