Newly elected Pope Francis appears on the central balcony of St Peter's
Basilica. (Gregorio Borgia / AP)
Basilica. (Gregorio Borgia / AP)
Where were you when your Pope Alarm went off? I didn’t have such an alarm, nor did I need one. I was in the confessional before the 11:30 Mass when I noticed students running across the campus excitedly. Within seconds the great bells in our chapel tower began tolling joyously. I absolved the last penitent and made for the only cable TV on campus, in Loyola Hall (we would later chuckle at the irony of seeing the first Jesuit Pope in Loyola Hall). I had to return for Mass before learning his identity, however. A tutor stood by in the sacristy with his i-phone should the name be disclosed before I started the Eucharistic prayer, so that we could pray for this poor man by name.
Alas, we were not to learn his name until after Mass. He was a Jesuit, and he was Francis. “A Jesuit Francis?” I wondered. “A Franciscan Jesuit?” I think, and I hope, that the world is in good hands if the Pope is a Jesuit who has the humility (and humor?) to pick the name of Francis. From what we have madly read of him in the last 90 minutes, he seems to be a man of God, chosen by the Holy Spirit rather than the New York Times. “It seems that my brother cardinals have gone almost to the ends of the earth to get [the new pope],” he joked, “but here we are.”
Let us rest easy tonight, for again we have a papa. Before leaving St. Peter’s Square, he bade us do so: “We will see one another soon,” he said. “Tomorrow I want to go to pray the Madonna, that she may protect Rome. Good night and sleep well.”
Alas, we were not to learn his name until after Mass. He was a Jesuit, and he was Francis. “A Jesuit Francis?” I wondered. “A Franciscan Jesuit?” I think, and I hope, that the world is in good hands if the Pope is a Jesuit who has the humility (and humor?) to pick the name of Francis. From what we have madly read of him in the last 90 minutes, he seems to be a man of God, chosen by the Holy Spirit rather than the New York Times. “It seems that my brother cardinals have gone almost to the ends of the earth to get [the new pope],” he joked, “but here we are.”
Let us rest easy tonight, for again we have a papa. Before leaving St. Peter’s Square, he bade us do so: “We will see one another soon,” he said. “Tomorrow I want to go to pray the Madonna, that she may protect Rome. Good night and sleep well.”
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