Vatican City (AFP) – Many of the thousands who surged into St Peter’s Square, their eyes fixed on the balcony of the famous basilica as they clutched rosaries or waved flags, were not expecting this: the first US pope. The Chicago-born Robert Prevost, who appeared at the balcony as Leo XIV, seemed shy, modest, and conciliatory, a tone that appeared to quickly endear him to the crowd awaiting his words. Among them was Gabrielle Estrada from Texas, who admitted she was floored. “This is history, I have no words. When I heard he is from Chicago… No words,” Estrada told AFP.
The tone in the sprawling Baroque square was festive ahead of the new pontiff’s entrance, after white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel riled up the crowd into a frenzy of waving flags and clapping. As the Vatican’s band played the Italian national anthem, excited priests pressed against a barricade, waving at television cameras, while others stared, riveted, at the balcony, as if to summon forth the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Then the Swiss Guards began a solemn march across the square ahead of the new pontiff’s appearance, a sign that it was imminent. The crowd erupted in a loud cheer after a senior cardinal announced a pope had been elected with the Latin words “habemus papam.”
But when the name of the new pontiff was announced, the reaction was more restrained. Many in the crowd had never heard of the man. Some asked their friends who he was or checked their mobile phones for information. “An American?” one asked, dubiously. When the bespectacled 69-year-old Augustinian appeared, a white skullcap on his head and a fuchsia silk cape covering his ivory cassock, a hush fell over the waiting masses. He spoke of building bridges, walking together, and being part of a missionary Church, while citing God’s work as a “disarming peace, humble and persevering.” He spoke in Italian — and also Spanish, the language he learned during his many years as a missionary in Peru, grinning shyly from the balcony while sniffing occasionally in what looked like an attempt to control his emotion.
Madeline Lambing from Kansas said she was “shocked” but was praying for the new pope. “He looked like he was very nervous about the job, right? It’s a huge job. You should be nervous. I’d be nervous,” said the woman in her 30s. As for Kathy Hewitt from Philadelphia, she could hardly contain her excitement. “That all these cardinals thought that much of someone from America, to represent the whole world… I have no words, it’s just amazing,” said the 58-year-old, waving a small American flag alongside her teenage son. “I’m thrilled that he is American. We did not expect that — it’s a complete surprise and a wonderful surprise.”
But the new pope’s first words also encouraged others. “We are in good hands,” said Filipino priest Michael Angelo Dacalos, 35, saying the name Leo XIV was a good sign given that Leo XIII was “very active when it comes to social justice.” Dacalos praised the pontiff’s first address thanking Pope Francis while reminding the faithful of his predecessor’s focus on dialogue and inclusion. “I’m very happy. I’m very much at peace. The Holy Spirit has given us a beautiful gift,” he said. Many faithful from Peru were overjoyed. “I’m blessed,” said Tania Ore, 55. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I saw it. We are part of history.”
© 2024 AFP
