VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 Americans in St. Peter鈥檚 Square were stunned and joyous when they learned that an American cardinal, Robert Provost, was elected pope Thursday and had taken the name Leo XIV.
鈥淲ho in our lifetime would have thought that we would see a ?鈥 said Father Thomas Montanaro, an American priest with the Legionaries of Christ.
Montanaro was among the many tens of thousands of people who filled St. Peter鈥檚 Square for the historic moment.
Cheers of 鈥渧iva il papa鈥 and applause rippled across the crowd to celebrate the new pope.
Father Darius Lawrence, a priest from California, said the announcement caught him completely off guard.
鈥淎s an American, it鈥檚 a huge surprise,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 would have never expected an American to be named as pope. He wasn鈥檛 on any of the lists I鈥檇 seen 鈥 and I鈥檇 been looking into it a little bit.鈥
The flags of many nations waved. But tellingly there very few American flags.
The Americans had not come prepared.
They also did not hear Leo speak to them in their native tongue. He used Italian to greet the crowds before turning to Spanish, using a language he used during years of missionary work in Peru, where he also obtained citizenship.
Past popes have shaped the larger world beyond the Catholic Church, and it was not lost on some that Leo might too.
鈥滻鈥檓 just hoping that the new pope can help steer us in a good direction and in terms of politics, you know, right now it鈥檚 very complicated,鈥 said Andrea Gallardo, a Texan. 鈥淚鈥檓 just hoping that he鈥檚 able to rekindle a good relationship with our president and all the government officials so that we can start going into a good route, I would say.鈥
In Washington, said it was an honor for an American to be chosen.
鈥淲hat greater honor can there be?鈥 Trump said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little bit surprised and we鈥檙e happy.”
Once white smoke started billowing out from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, 鈥渁n extraordinary influx of over 150,000 people鈥 came from elsewhere in Rome to fill the square, police said in a statement.
鈥淚 was at home, but as soon as the smoke went up, I put on my clothes and I came to the Vatican,” said Thomas Nicolini, 22, a Peruvian from Lima, who is studying economics in Rome.
鈥淚鈥檓 really happy about this. I know he鈥檚 American, but he was in Peru for a long time, 20 years. He worked in the region of Chiclayo. That鈥檚 a beautiful area, but one of the regions that needs lots of hope. So now I鈥檓 expecting that the new pope helps as many people as possible, and tries to reignite, let鈥檚 say, the faith young people have lost.鈥
