Incredible

Tonight was truly amazing, awesome, wonderful, and so many other things that just haven't sunk in yet.  Never in a million years did I think I would be in St. Peter's Square to see white smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel and then to see a new Pontiff emerge from the balcony.  As I type this, I'm getting chills. 

St. Peter's with the Sistine Chapel in the background.

The facade of the Basilica.

As you know, I was in St. Peter's Square this morning when we had black smoke.  This afternoon, I returned with Bros. Javi and Joseph to wait once again.  The difference this time was that the rain was quite a bit harder!  My feet were wet and my arms were tired from holding an umbrella.  5:00 passed with no signal which meant that an inconclusive vote had been reached...again we had to wait. 

All we could see.

Bro. Joseph and Bro. Javi

Your's truly

And we even found Bro. Dani in the crowd.

But, the crowd was growing and there had been rumors all day that today would be the day.  I didn't really believe them.  Several laughs came from the crowd as a pigeon roosted on top of the Sistine chimney.  The Holy Spirit?  In my typical sarcastic way I mentioned that it was probably just a warm place to rest for a bit.

There was no way to get a good picture of the crowd, but it was massive.

Pigeon on the chimeny

Chimney Cam quickly became Bird Cam

Shortly after 7:00, a collective gasp went up from the crowd...is that smoke?  What color is it?  NO WAY!  The crowd went wild when it became very obvious that the smoke was WHITE!  Something short of chaos followed...cheering, hollering, hugging, smiles and looks of disbelief all over the place.  It was soon confirmed as the bells of St. Peter began to peal, adding to the cacophony that had become St. Peter's.

Smoke....

....White Smoke!!!!!

The revelry begins

I wonder how big the ballots are, because there was a whole bunch of smoke!

The bells ringing....beautiful music.

During the next 45 minutes, there was a sort of electricity in the air.  Question of who do you think it will be?  Moments of realization that I was actually here, not watching on television, but actually in the place where millions around the globe were watching on television.  And the rain even stopped! 

We were very happy.

A regiment of the Swiss guard with a band marched in, followed by a regiment and band of the Italian guard.

The Swiss Guard

The Italians

As we waited, not knowing what would happen next, spontaneous chants of "Viva Papa" echoed through the Square.  We sang the Salve Regina, we prayed the Our Father.  It was quite impressive to experience this sense of togetherness with thousands of others from all over the globe. 

Then, a light came on.  Literally, the lights of the balcony came on and, again, a collective cheer came from the crowd.  A Cardinal came out and exclaimed: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam.” In English, “I announce to you a great joy; We have a Pope.”  Then his name was given, and honestly, no one understood it!  Who?  What was that?  Something about Francesco?  

"Habemus Papam"

Slowly, the news filtered through the crowd...Jorge Mario Bergoglio?  From Agentina?  A Jesuit???  And he took the name Francesco?  Then, all the curtains on the balcony opened, the Cardinals came forth, and we got our first glimpse of the new Pope.

Francesco I

Some of the Cardinals

The Cardinals and the new Bishop of Rome

Francesco I then gave his blessing "Urbi et Orbi" - to the city of Rome and to the whole world.  This was, perhaps, the most moving for me.  He spoke of the "journey" that we are all on together.  We prayed an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be in Italian for Pope Emeritus Benedict.  Before giving us his blessing, he asked that all gathered pray that God's blessing be with him, and he asked for a silent prayer.  Kid you not, there were probably hundreds of thousands of people there, and the entire place was absolutely silent.  We're talking "hearing a pin drop" silent.  The only thing heard was a distant police siren...unreal! 

The Pontiff then gave us his blessing, and concluded with "Buona notte e Buon riposo" - "Good night and Sleep well."  An appropriate end to the evening in that, as I looked up, a few stars were starting to emerge from the cloudy skies.

From the big screen.

Still can't believe that I was there and took this picture.

Incredible.

St. Peter's Basilica

Once more the crowd erupted and the bells pealed (I understand even the bells in Dayton were ringing.)  We made our way through the crowd back near home where we enjoyed a celebratory meal of pizza and beer!  A good end to an extraordinary evening.

Toasting our new Pontiff.

It's getting late, and I'm sure I've forgotten things.  But, this is good for now.  I haven't even looked online yet, but I'm sure everyone is sizing Francesco up.  For now, let's just pray for God's many graces and blessings upon our new Pope, upon our Church, and upon all people of good will. 

Good night and sleep well, my friends!

Ciao!

Anticipation

This morning, after class was finished, I met Bro. Javi and we made our way to St. Peter's to look for white smoke.  We arrived in the Piazza around a little before 11:00 and I was surprised by how many people were already gathered there.

The crowd gathers.

It was cold.  It rained on and off.  But, there was excitement in the air.  A group of sisters sang nearby.  Various press personnel were working the crowd.  A seminarian was reading a book by Cardinal Scola.  A construction worker laboring on the colonnade stepped out onto the scaffolding and snapped a quick picture of the crowd.  A sister in the papal residence did the same.  The piazza was getting more and more crowded.  And there I was.  Looking at a chimney.  In the rain. 

All eyes are on you, baby.

Chimney Cam

Around 11:45 the smoke began to puff out of the chimney.  Was this it?  From the crowd you heard, "Fumo, fumo, fumo.....ahhhhhh, nero, nero."  (Smoke, smoke, smoke......ahhhhhhh, black, black.)  Talk about the balloon deflating :(  Actually, it was still quite a bit of fun.  And as I said, yesterday, history in the making.

Looks like black smoke.

Back to praying for the Cardinals.

And so we return this afternoon to wait again. 

Ciao!

Papal Excitement

Tonight at cena (that would be dinner) I found myself asking, “Che cosa divento io?” which can be translated as “What am I becoming?”  Now, don’t worry, this is not some existential crisis that I’m going through.  Even after all the philosophy at UD, I’m pretty sure that I exist. 

 

But, here I am in Rome during a Papal Conclave, and I find myself almost giddy with excitement.  What’s that all about?  I must admit that I usually don’t get too excited about church-hierarchical/government affairs.  Sure, I’m interested in who the local Bishop is (which can be difficult with all my moving around.)  And I like to keep up-to-date on current news of the Church.  But, I would never consider myself a “Vaticanisti” (one who follows the Vatican closely).  But here I am trying to read the latest news reports, looking at videos of the Cardinals filing into the Sistine Chapel, and watching the Vatican webcam!

Current picture from the Vatican webcam.

I think that maybe this all boils down to two things.  First, it is exciting to be here in Rome (the center of it all these days).  I understand that the Church currently finds itself in the midst of a historical time, and it is exciting to be in the middle of it.  Second, I do have a real love for the church.  Even though the church has its issues, it is my church.  I’m reminded of St. Augustine who basically argued that the Church is a mix of sinners and saints.    It’s not always going to be perfect, but we also have faith that God is in the middle of all this, offering compassion and mercy and, above all, love.  I think it is this God who I love.

Luckily, I’m not alone in all of this.  Bro. Javi said that he feels the same way.  And he, too, is stymied by his passion and enthusiasm for all-things-Pope. So, we’ve made plans to head down to St. Peter’s square on Wednesday morning (and maybe again in the evening) just to be a part of all this.  As Javi said, “I don’t care if the smoke is white or black…I just want to see smoke.”  Chalk this up to yet another crazy adventure that, yes, God is in the middle of.

Two Brothers on a mission to see Conclave smoke!

Disclaimer: I am going to St. Peter’s after my classes are finished.  Don’t worry Bro. Charles, I do go to class. 

Ciao!