by Father John P. Cush
What a week it’s been! The excitement and anticipation had been building here in Rome. On Tuesday, March 12, I attended the Mass for the election for the Holy Father at St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrated by Angelo Cardinal Sodano. On Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, several of us American priests who are graduate students in Rome went to St. Peter’s Square, waiting to learn if the cardinals had elected a new pontiff. Half expecting it at this early time, black smoke came pouring from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and we went home.
That evening, a number of us went again to Piazza San Pietro and stood in the rain, waiting for the smoke to come, amused by the seagull who had perched himself on the smoke stack. We were discouraged and almost certain that when smoke came, it would be black. Wet and tired, we were greatly surprised when around 7 p.m., white smoke poured forth. The crowd rushed forward and we found ourselves right near the front.
I was surrounded by strangers, all speaking different languages, all friendly and all there for one reason – they all love the Church and they all love the vicar of Christ. All were talking and wondering who it could be. Some of the Italians around me were certain that it would be an American; others were absolutely positive that it would be an Italian!
When the lights went on in the balcony and Cardinal Tauran came out and announced the name of the new pontiff, very few of us in the square had heard it properly and those of us who had heard were uncertain as to who it was! To an extent, the people around me were correct: we did get an American, albeit someone from South America, and we did get an Italian, albeit an Argentinian of Italian descent. What mattered only is that we had Peter. He is Catholic, beyond borders. When Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, came out and stood there, arms at his side, absolutely silent and still, everyone wondered what would happen.
When he finally spoke, it was a gentle, warm, humble introduction of himself to the world. He began with a beautiful gesture – praying for his predecessor, Pope Benedict. The Holy Father asked us to pray for him and when we did, the crowd was silent and reflective. One could truly feel the power of prayer, the sincere, honest prayer from all in that crowd.
This will be a pontificate of prayer. His first act as pope on Thursday was to pray to the Blessed Mother for her guidance at the Basilica of St. Mary Major. It will also be a pontificate of humility. Forsaking some of the outward trappings of the papacy so far, he gives a clear indication of his name choice, striving to be a modern Francis of Assisi. Like another Francis, this one a fellow Jesuit, Xavier, he is a model of pastoral care and an agent of evangelization by deeds.
This morning, when I celebrated Mass, it was overwhelming to be able to say Francis, our pope and (because I am in the Diocese of Rome) our bishop. Thank God for the choice of this new shepherd. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be present at his election, one for which I am truly grateful.[hr] Father John P. Cush, a priest of the Brooklyn Diocese, is a doctoral student in dogmatic theology at the Angelicum in Rome.