The news came down during Mass. My phone started vibrating with news alerts. Mass had just begun and the priest said that we may have a new Holy Father within the hour on this, the second day of the conclave. Within minutes, we saw how right he was. With my phone buzzing quietly in the first row, I quickly and internally debated on whether or not I should signal him and I decided to do so. He didn’t understand my gestures, so he motioned for me to come forward.
I walked up to the altar, bowed and whispered, “White smoke!” and then sat down. I kind of figured something would happen today. I also kept in the back of my mind the possibility of there being a pope from the United States. And sure enough, we have ourselves an American pope for the first time in the entire history of the Church!
As we all know by now, Pope Leo XIV is now the Holy Father. He is our 267th pope. After Mass, I proceeded to the rectory where I perform volunteer duties on Thursdays. There, we all watched the live coverage as he was revealed to the world, which is why this article is being posted so long after the fact.
He, Robert Prevost, hails from Chicago. When I saw him step out onto the balcony, I was filled with relief and an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I am grateful that we did not wind up with a black pope. I am further filled with gratitude over the fact that our new pope is White. Sorry, not sorry.
Hopefully, our new pope will make it clear to the world that our Church has no room for homosexuality or transgenderism. I want to see that kind of leadership out of him. I know absolutely nothing about the guy, but what I do know is that he has the potential to lead the only true Church in bold new directions.
There’s nothing to do now but sit back and wait and see just what kind of a leader Prevost is. The Holy Mother Church is in his hands. May he stay true to the Church and serve it and not himself.
Will he follow in Pope Francis’ steps? Will he accept a salary? Will he choose to live in luxury? Those things are important, but not as important as protecting the Church’s image, which is why he has to hit the ground running fighting the acceptance of homosexuals and transgenders in our pews.