I had been following the events relating to the papal election very closely as I have the blessing of studying in Rome during this time. On the day the conclave opened, I visited with some other seminarians in the roof-top lounge. We chatted about possible candidates for the pope, but in all our conversations an American was not on our lists.
The next afternoon I went to Saint Peter’s square. I was casually watching for the white smoke, but not expecting it until the next day. I saw it. I noticed the crowd’s attention shift from the seagulls around the chimney to the smoke coming from it. Instantly everyone went wild. This was only the beginning of the shock for me though. About an hour later one of the cardinals came out to announce the name of the next Pope and I was very excited. The first name came, “Robertus Franciscus,” and I was not sure who that could be referring to. The last name came, “Prevost.” I vaguely remembered the name, but everyone around me got even more excited. They loudly shouted that he was an American. My first thoughts were: “That couldn’t possibly be right. They’re not supposed to elect an American. And besides this name wasn’t on my list.” The couple standing behind me was from Chicago though and, as people began to research, this new reality began to come together. As the cardinal announced the Pope’s new name would be Leo XIV I became even more excited. I really like Pope Leo the XIII and his encyclicals were among the first I read when I became a seminarian. The new Pope’s name is a wonderful reference to his predecessor. The shock still hadn’t worn off when our new Pope walked out to the balcony and gave his first Urbi et Orbi address. It was very well said. He shared many beautiful ideas, but the main theme I noticed was how unifying it was. There was much in the address about peace and building bridges between communities. I was very happy to be there to hear it in-person.
A few days later I visited with a Cardinal in the student lounge. One of his comments was particularly memorable. He told me a story of a journalist’s question to him about how an American Pope would affect the internal politics of the Vatican. He responded with, “We didn’t elect an American; we elected a Catholic.” This is an important thing to remember. Even though Pope Leo XIV comes from America, and this is a shocking and new thing, the primary detail is still that he is the Pope; the successor of Peter and leader of the Church. He is the head of the Body of Christ, the Church, guiding us to Christ.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
In the heart of Jesus,
-Blake Thamer