VATICAN CITY. There was no room to kneel as the Roman crowds used to in St Peter’s Square when a new Pope gave his first blessing on the balcony. But we got a papal blessing nonetheless, and for the first time I saw a pope weep – he had been Vicar of Christ for less than two hours.
On 8 May history unfolded in front of me for about an hour and a half, starting at 6.07 pm when the chalky white smoke first began rising from the chimney temporarily erected on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
Its appearance of the smoke was not expected. There was black smoke just before noon, after the first vote of the day at 10.45 am. After the long delay the evening before, which ruined many Roman dinner plans, it was seen as a sign that the cardinals were now getting into the swing of the arcane voting ritual in the Sistine chapel where they were locked up.
Black smoke at noon meant plenty of time for lunch, so I met up with a young Hong Kong priest based in Rome, where he is a student. He is also secretary to the venerable 93-year-old Cardinal Zen, who had had his passport returned to him by the Chinese authorities so that he could attend the pre-conclave meetings of the Sacred College.
It was a beautifully warm and sunny day, and I spent the afternoon strolling around the Borgo Pio. I was having a drink with Vaticanista friends in a bar on the Borgo Santo Spirito, near the colonnades of St Peter’s, when we heard a roar from the crowd. The square erupted with the sort of wild cheering you might expect if Italy had scored a winning goal in the World Cup.
White smoke. But who was the next pope going to be, what name was he going to choose, and what was he going to wear? The latter two would send a powerful message about what sort of pope he would be, and what direction he might take after roller coaster years of Pope Francis. The identity of the 267th Roman pontiff was the only question on our minds as we all began running towards the square.
Suddenly I was faced with a dilemma; my heart sank when I looked at my phone. The Church may have been about to be given a new burst of spiritual energy but my device was about to die. It was down to an ominous red, and I was meant to be “going live” on the radio the moment the name was announced. To charge or not to charge?
Thankfully, I had been reading a colourful account of the election of Pope Pius XII on 2 March 1939 in <em>The Venerabile</em>, the magazine of the Venerable English College. What was clear was that there was had been a critically important hour-long period between the white <em>fumata</em> and the appearance of “Cardinalem Pacelli” – the words are always spoken in Latin – on the balcony.
This is when a new pope is dressed in the Room of Tears. It was during this pre-balcony period that Pope Francis famously discarded the red papal slippers – although he did wear a white cassock from the Roman tailor Gammarelli. Popes have a choice of three sizes to wear: large, medium and small. Alterations take place later.
Whilst the new pope was being dressed I ran back to the bar, ordered a drink and charged my phone for 15 precious minutes before heading back towards the long queues that had formed leading into the square. They certainly didn't have airport-style security checks in 1939, which added another ten minutes or so but thankfully a police officer let me through when I flashed my temporary Vatican press pass.
The crowd – of well over 100,000 people – was by now heaving. We pushed our way through so that we stood beside a huge giant stadium-style TV screen and also had a clear view of the famous balcony upon which history was about to unfold. A tiny African nun stood next to me, praying the rosary and fixed on the TV screen.
“A short conclave will favour Parolin,” said my Italian Vaticanista friend. As we continued our speculations, a woman interjected. “We should not care who the next pope is,” she said looking at us fiercely. “We must pray for the new pope whoever he is. I am here only to pray.” That told us.
By now, we were looking for the smallest signs that the announcement was going to take place. The broadcast and TV media were operating from special scaffolding that had been erected at the back of the square, close to the grand building of the Vatican Press Office on the Via della Conciliazione.
Having spent the day before cloistered inside the John Paul II Hall, where most journalists – for lack of desks – were sprawled on the floor like at an airport after a day of air traffic controller strikes, I was relieved not to be there. The only place to witness the announcement of a new <em>Pontifex Maximus</em>, supreme leader of the Catholic Church, is in the middle of the heaving, sweating Roman crowd.
Then the door opened on the balcony and several figures, including Cardinal Dominique Mamberti appeared through the drapes. The tension mounted; the crowd fell silent before he smiled and declared “<em>Habemus Papam</em>!” It was Cardinal Prevost, from Chicago via Peru, whose regnal name would be Leo XIV.
The crowd stayed rather silent. People looked around. Had somebody made a mistake? Read out the wrong name? There was definitely no roar; everyone seemed shocked. <em>Roberto chi</em>? <em>Americano</em>?! No Italian pope, yet again – and one could sense the clear disappointment.
I thought Leo XIV was an inspired choice, marking a break from the era of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. A new chapter for the Church, and a badly-needed break from the sins and scandals of the 20th century. Leo XIII (1878-1904) was known for his 1891 encyclical <em>Rerum Novarum</em>, widely regarded as a foundation stone of Catholic social teaching. Among many other achievements Leo I (440-461) – better known as Leo the Great – saved Rome from Attila the Hun.
Then the first American pope appeared and began to speak. It seemed that his notes were written by hand in blue ink, and he was visibly weeping. In his first public words to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics he made a clear references to his new mission, talking about the need for healing of divisions and wounds, and of being a bridge-builder. “Help us too, then each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with encounter, uniting us all to be one people always in peace,” he said, while also acknowledging Pope Francis. By the time he blessed the crowds he had won them over, and the cheering began.
Pope Leo’s decision to wear the papal mozzetta also seemed highly significant and was much approved of by those around me. A return to the sort of pope who dignifies his holy office with the traditional dress popes have worn for centuries, and sending a reassuring message. At the time of writing he has not yet worn the red shoes, but he has moved back into the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. It is very encouraging indeed. <em>Viva il Papa!</em>
<em>Photo: White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo (Leone) XIV, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)</em>
