By Fr. Brent Durschmidt
On the second evening of the conclave, I decided to head down to St. Peter’s Square after a long day of studying. By that time, though I didn’t have any hope that I would see white smoke, I figured I would get out of the house to take a break and be among the excitement of this moment in history. My attitude the whole way down and through the long wait in security was, “There is no way they’ll decide this early.”
When everybody erupted and the stampede started in the square, I was in complete disbelief. I thought, “How was this possible? How did they come to such a quick decision when there was supposedly so much disagreement and polarization in the College of Cardinals?” The only answer was that this could be nothing less than the work of the Holy Spirit. This belief has been reinforced with every cardinal I have talked to and in every post-election interview with a cardinal that I have heard since then.
As I stood amidst the eager crowd in the square with the bells in the city tolling and everybody anxiously awaiting the announcement, my anticipation grew. Then the curtains opened. Cardinal Mamberti steps onto the Loggia: “ANNUNTIO VOBIS GAUDIUM MAGNUM… HABEMUS PAPAM!” The crowd went absolutely nuts. The seat was no longer vacant! We were no longer without a spiritual father! The Holy Spirit had given us a new shepherd to lead Christ’s Church into the salvation for which we were created!
What stood out to me at that moment was that nobody yet knew who it was. But it didn’t matter. The excitement of the people was driven by the fact that the Holy Spirit, through the College of Cardinals, had chosen a new Vicar to succeed the unbroken line of popes dating all the way back to Peter – at whose bones we had gathered. It didn’t matter who it was. The Church’s survival does not depend on the man in charge. If this were the case, the Church would have collapsed long ago. After a couple minutes of complete pandemonium, the crowd finally quieted down. Cardinal Mamberti said, “Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum Robertum Franciscum Sanctae Romane Ecclesiae Cardinalem Prevost qui sibi nomen imposuit Leo XIV” (The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord Robert Francis Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church Prevost who has taken the name Leo XIV). While the crowd was still going crazy, there was hesitation and a lot of people looked to each other asking, “Who?” The realization that it was an American Cardinal started circulating through the crowd. Americano? Un Americano? How could this be? People didn’t know what to think. Nobody seemed to know anything about him. He wasn’t on the list of prominent candidates that almost any news outlet had on their radar. “Perfect,” I thought. “One more sign that the Holy Spirit is the one in charge.” Worldly structures only look through a worldly lens with politics as its measure to try to predict how an ecclesial structure with the Spirit as its measure will make decisions. Fortunately, the Lord often likes to surprise us.
The couple minutes between the announcement and the appearance of newly elected Pope Leo XIV were filled with chants repeating “LEONE.” There was a buzz in the crowd that was exhilarating. And especially for me, being in my first year of priesthood and last two months in Rome, to be physically present in the square and see our new Holy Father walk out for the first time was a blessing I will never forget or possibly ever experience again.
As I have been reflecting on my whole experience in prayer, there has been a growing desire to spiritually unite myself in Christ to our new pope in a profound way. Not because he is American, not because of any of his views, but because he is my Holy Father. The Lord has been calling me deeper into my vocation as a faithful priest and son of the Church meaning I need to be spiritually united to our Holy Father in a way that goes deeper than his decisions, as good or challenging that they may be. He needs and deserves my heartfelt prayer. Please join me in doing the same. Let us place Pope Leo XIV under the mantle of Our Lady’s protection and call upon the Holy Spirit to enkindle in him the fire of the Lord’s love. Peace be with you!