Smoke rises white from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:08pm, but we are not in St. Peter’s Square. Instead, we are crossing Tibere a few kilometres apart.
The parish bells in the southern part of Rome’s Galvaterra district begin to ring, and a couple walking their dogs notices an unusual sound. One of them looked at her cell phone and said aloud, “I’m not a fan of my life.” “What is the new Pope?” another nodded. “And who is he?”
There is no answer yet. Instead, the only place is St. Peter’s Square, with the 267th Pope coming soon to the Basilica’s Loggia.
Within minutes, the streets of Rome become crowded and the lungfore becomes an endless river of car. People on the sidewalk are confused by cell phones as a group of charity sisters cross the road towards Pontefabrio.
By 6:30pm, reaching the Vatican seems like a feat, but there is yet no word of the exact time the new pope will be announced in the traditional declaration “Habemus Papam.” Fifty minutes after white smoke, the faithful crowd still presses the metal detector and enters the square.
We are inside too, under a clear sky, 150,000 people arrived in St. Peter within an hour. The atmosphere is full of joy, but it’s heavy to expect. The people who made it are looking for the best places they can get. Behind the Bernini fountain, a group of nuns in blue robes breaks into a celebration song.
All your phones are ready, but you cannot connect to the internet.
“Are we alive in the moment?” Tania asks Tania, who arrives as soon as the news of the white smoke breaks. Next to her is Chiara and a friend who takes test photos of the Loggia to see if they can capture such a crucial moment.
While waiting, Tania hopes that the Zuppi Cardinal will appear on the balcony.
The water in the fountain crosses the crowds chatting, chanting and sighing until the moment everyone is waiting, as the curtains of the loggia open, and the protodeacon Dominique Manberti Cardinal recites traditional Latin presentations. And finally, a new Pope is revealed.
He was the North American Cardinal Robert Francis Prebust, and he chose the name Leo XIV.
From our point of view, his name cannot be heard clearly despite the speaker. The young priest manages to pick up “Robert,” but no one expects the new clergyman, the first pope in history from the US, to be Prevost.
Hamebas Pope
History is in St. Peter’s Square, and they give it a sense of it. The phone signal is still dead and no one can check online who the new Pope is.
The minutes between the announcement of the Proto-Deacon and the arrival of the new Pope seem to be almost wrong. “Leo xiv? Amazing,” someone says. The news starts bouncing off one person to another, but without the help of the internet, no one is sure.
The curtains at the loggia open again and the cardinal greets the Italian crowd.
“Peace is with you!” he says. “My beloved brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life to the flock of God.
These are the first words of Leo XIV, but the audio has not yet completely exploded, making what he is saying.
Everyone is incredible, but also has a smile. The prayers offered to the world peace, applause, and even the chorus of “Pope, Pope” disappear as Mary who had been recited. Speakers are no longer needed. St. Peter’s Square becomes a living prayer when the sun sets and replaces it.
The Spanish and South American flags were waving around with applause, welcoming Pope XIV’s first speech. “I am also permitted to say hello to all those in my dear parish in Peru,” the Pope said in Spanish.
“That’s the strength of the church,” the young African priest smiles, “I am amazed like this.”
The square slowly empties into the sky. The party is still here and no one wants to leave. Near the Colonnade is Don Giulio, a priest from the parish in Rome’s Tora Monaca district. He tells how to jump on his scooter and arrive at the Vatican as soon as he sees the white smoke rising.
No one stopped anything that had high traffic today. “The Lord wanted us all here,” says Julio.
“This kind of thing will probably only happen if Italy wins the World Cup,” he concluded. “It’s certainly going to be even bigger.”
