Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam!
“I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope!”
I’ve heard those words before on television after the elections of both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis — but this time, I heard those words in person, as a graduate student at a pontifical university in Rome.
On Thursday May 8, I made my way to St. Peter’s Square to wait and watch for the definitive smoke to emerge from the Sistine Chapel chimney announcing whether the College of Cardinals had reached a two-thirds majority vote, consequently electing a new pope. With my phone in hand and YouTube open, the only activity was what many Romans were calling the “papal seagull.” There was no indication of a decision. In fact, the smoke signal, if positive, was expected around 5:30 p.m., so being that it was about 6:15 p.m., I momentarily switched off the phone to conserve the battery. I also wanted to walk the last 100 meters to St. Peter’s Square in prayerful meditation so that if there were an election, I would be mentally and spiritually prepared to receive the good news that the Church had a new Holy Father. And with that, I said to my friend who was accompanying me to Vatican City: “No one’s running yet, so obviously there’s still no pope.”
I had no more than uttered those words when I saw two men sprinting the direction in which we were leisurely walking. I questioned whether something had happened, but my friend said, “They are just running for exercise,” which, here in Rome, is a popular form of physical fitness. But then I saw a priest running, with a second not far behind. Fumbling for my phone, I picked up the pace to a powerwalk as I heard the bells of St. Peter’s peeling the familiar pattern that I heard on Easter Sunday. I knew in that moment that we had a new pope.
The next few minutes were moments I know I’ll never forget.
As I started sprinting for the colonnade surrounding the square, a woman coming from a coffee bar asked me, “What happened? Are you OK?” and I scream at the top of my lungs, “There’s white smoke from the Sistine! White smoke!” It was a little like a movie playing out in real time as I watched people jumping up from their chairs in restaurants and joining the race to catch a glimpse of the white smoke itself before it dissipated into the sky.
Thankfully, I was as close as I was when the news broke because when I reached the square, I did not have more than 10 minutes to wait before I passed through the security checkpoint to join over 100,000 people in the square. Once inside, the energy was electrifying. Many people were cheering “Viva il Papa,” or “Long live the Pope,” while others were waving flags of their respective countries. Spontaneous applause erupted as the cameras scanned the crowds and people saw themselves or their friends on the large screens in the piazza. I joined a group singing Regina Coeli, the Marian anthem traditionally sung during the Easter season.
At one point I scanned the crowd, and I wondered how it was even possible that so many people, from all corners of the world, from so many different cultures, languages and ethnicities could be in the same place at the same time, united with such joy, all the while our world faces immense challenges of geopolitical instabilities and conflicts, economic inequality and global development, not to mention climate change and environmental sustainability. It brought a sense of how fragile humanity really is, and what a great responsibility the man who was about to emerge had just been entrusted.
After roughly an hour, the square erupted in cheers, as a cardinal stood on the loggia of the basilica and cried out, “Habemus Papam!” The announcement echoed across the square and was met with cheers, tears and thunderous applause. In fact, at first, I didn’t even hear his name, much less where he was from, and since most cellular signals were blocked so as not to interfere with the broadcasting news channels, there was no way to check the internet in that moment. Then someone near me cried out, “He’s an American!” and my heart skipped a beat. I never dreamed that I would ever see the day the College of Cardinals would elect an American Pope, and I responded, “South American, right?” That’s when my friend with me said, “No, American, like you! The United States of America!”
As the newly elected Pope Leo XIV stepped forward to greet the people, there was a hushed awe that marked the beginning of a new era. Viva il Papa! Long live Pope Leo XIV! Let us pray for him and for one another.
Kim Mandelkow, Director of Worship for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from September 2018 until September 2023, is currently studying for a postgraduate degree in Dogmatic-Sacramental Theology at the Pontifical Ateneo of Sant’Anselmo.
Photos by Kim Mandelkow.
