Viva il Papa Francesco!
Being at Christendom for the election of the Supreme Pontiff was possibly one of the best experiences of my life! When the conclave began, that Tuesday afternoon I had a "conclave party" - since I didn't have classes in the afternoon, I just set up the live feed of the smokestack, and people came in and out as they could stay to keep an eye on the smoke. That first day brought only black smoke, but the next day we had another conclave party. The expectation was heightened as the probability of white smoke rose.
Throughout the afternoon I kept checking the feed to make sure it hadn't frozen; I was also connected to half-a-dozen Twitter feeds. A few minutes before the white smoke came out, the video must have frozen, because I received text after text telling me of white smoke! I finally got the webpage to refresh and we saw the white smoke pouring out of the Sistine Chapel! We told all the professors who were having class nearby, then hightailed it to the chapel to pray for our new pope. The bells began to ring as we drew nearer to the church - they continued ringing until after he had come out on the balcony.
Whoever could, flooded the student center, where two of the three televisions on campus are located. Probably half the campus, and a significant number of professors (who had instantaneously cancelled classes and even postponed tests!) were gathered in the building. The atmosphere was one of extreme joy and palpably excited tension. More and more people kept coming as the time drew closer and events in the square began to unfold.
Yours truly is at the end of the coffee table in the black and white dress.
The tears and happiness when we saw our beloved Papa come out onto the balcony - indescribable! It seems as if he has always been there. We miss Benedict, of course - after all, we are the Benedict XVI generation - but I can honestly say the entire campus of Christendom took Pope Francis to our hearts immediately. After his beautiful speech on the balcony, the prayers and Urbi et Orbi blessing, we flooded back out onto campus, cheering. For hours afterwards you could feel the joy all over campus. We were united like never before. I went with the Legion of Mary as a group to pray in front of the statue of Our Lady for our new pope, then set out to find out as much as I could about him. I can't wait to see him when I'm in Rome next year! Thanks be to God for Pope Francis!
Throughout the afternoon I kept checking the feed to make sure it hadn't frozen; I was also connected to half-a-dozen Twitter feeds. A few minutes before the white smoke came out, the video must have frozen, because I received text after text telling me of white smoke! I finally got the webpage to refresh and we saw the white smoke pouring out of the Sistine Chapel! We told all the professors who were having class nearby, then hightailed it to the chapel to pray for our new pope. The bells began to ring as we drew nearer to the church - they continued ringing until after he had come out on the balcony.
Whoever could, flooded the student center, where two of the three televisions on campus are located. Probably half the campus, and a significant number of professors (who had instantaneously cancelled classes and even postponed tests!) were gathered in the building. The atmosphere was one of extreme joy and palpably excited tension. More and more people kept coming as the time drew closer and events in the square began to unfold.
Yours truly is at the end of the coffee table in the black and white dress.
The tears and happiness when we saw our beloved Papa come out onto the balcony - indescribable! It seems as if he has always been there. We miss Benedict, of course - after all, we are the Benedict XVI generation - but I can honestly say the entire campus of Christendom took Pope Francis to our hearts immediately. After his beautiful speech on the balcony, the prayers and Urbi et Orbi blessing, we flooded back out onto campus, cheering. For hours afterwards you could feel the joy all over campus. We were united like never before. I went with the Legion of Mary as a group to pray in front of the statue of Our Lady for our new pope, then set out to find out as much as I could about him. I can't wait to see him when I'm in Rome next year! Thanks be to God for Pope Francis!
Yay for Conclave Parties and Chimney Stalking! :D
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