Habemus Papam!

The past few days have been so busy! Midterms are next week, so I've been trying to focus on studying and of course, I stood out in the rain for hours waiting for the new pope to be elected.

On Wednesday morning, we stood outside in St. Peter's Square in the rain, among a sea of umbrellas. I hadn't expected to have the pope elected so quickly, so seeing the black smoke was not too much of a disappointment. 

Black smoke - a little disappointing, but expected

The crowd, waiting in the rain

However, on Wednesday afternoon, as we headed to St. Peter's at 4:30, I was hoping that there would be a new pope. After the first vote that evening was inconclusive, we took a coffee break and returned at 6, standing near the front of the square so we could see the chimney. A little more than an hour later, I saw the white smoke. I had this feeling of pure joy and could not believe that I was really going to see the new pope! The bells started ringing and we rushed forward to get a better spot. As everyone closed their umbrellas, the rain finally stopped. 

White smoke finally, ahhh!

There was such an energy in the square, with people from all over the world joining together to greet the new pope. Around me, there was a group of American students, a couple Slovakians, some Mexicans, many Italians, an American family, and a few French people. There were flags from all over the world, from Mexico to South Korea to England. 

The Vatican and Italian military bands marched in, along with the Swiss guards. They played the Vatican and Italian anthems, which all of the Italians in the crowd sang. It was very beautiful.

After an hour of waiting, they turned the lights on upstairs and eventually the cardinal came out to announce "Habemus papam!" and that the new pope's name is Francesco. The people around me started talking in different languages, asking who the new pope is and where he is from. There was a lot of excitement that he was from Argentina. In front of me, a group of Italians confirmed that it's the first Francesco. The crowd started chanting "Francesco" and it's just too infectious to not join in.

Finally, the pope came out and the crowd went wild. The cardinals were out on the balconies and it was an amazing sight. Pope Francis led the crowd in saying the "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Glory Be." He then addressed the crowd in Italian and ended saying "Buona notte e buon riposo." 

I still cannot believe that I was really there. You know how sometimes when you anticipate an event, you build it up in your mind and then afterward you are disappointed that it is over? This experience was better than I could imagine and one of the happiest moments of my life. I am very blessed to be in Rome during such an important time.

The crowd as we were leaving. We were so close to the front!

I am very pleased with the new pope. He is not from Europe, which is a huge change, but one that I believe will be good for the Church. He is a Jesuit, smart, and also humble. I believe that he will lead the Church in the right direction. It will be interesting to see if he retires as well and if Benedict has set a precedent for future popes.

Also, I was interviewed by KHOU, the Houston news station. It was a little awkward, but here's the link to it if you want to watch: http://bit.ly/ZzvRnL. It's about a minute in.