From the Loggia delle Benedizioni of the Basilica of San Pietro, the first appearance of Robert Francis Prevost, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, elected by the cardinals in Conclave as the 267th Pontiff of the universal Church. Hymns, songs, prayers, applause, choruses of “Long live the Pope” and jubilation at the announcement of Habemus Papam by the 100,000 people present. Then the arrival of the Bishop of Rome, the first words, and the blessing Urbi et Orbi
By: Salvatore Cernuzio – Vatican News
Published date:
First, the name. Leone XIV, in memory of Leo XIII, the Pope of the first social encyclical Rerum Novarum. Then the face. The expression of serenity and amazement of someone who, for the first time, with new clothes and eyes, savors on his skin what his predecessors experienced in that first appearance from the Loggia delle Benedizioni. Cheers, songs, applause, choruses of “Long live the Pope” and “Leone, Leone,” banners, flags, smartphone lights shining under the Roman sky heading towards a gradual twilight. Finally, the words, the first words spoken with a firm voice and a Spanish inflection:
“Peace be with all of you! Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, reach your families, all people, wherever they are, all nations, all the earth. Peace be with you!”
“Son of Saint Augustine”
The two-thousand-year history of the Church begins a new chapter. There is a Pope, a new Pope, the 267th Pontiff of the universal Church. A “son of Saint Augustine,” a missionary from Chicago with mixed French, Italian, and Iberian roots who presents himself to everyone with the papal insignia and speaks in Italian, Spanish, and Latin, not off the cuff but reading from a text written by his own hand. He was elected by 133 cardinals from all over the world in a fast-paced Conclave.
Over 100,000 people in the square
“It’s white! It’s white!” The crowd shouted the first Habemus papam, overflowing – about 100,000 people – in the Bernini colonnade where they gathered at the first appearance of smoke from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel roof. It was 6:07 pm. An initial trickle, then the long trail that dissipated into the clear sky of this Roman spring. A roar rose from the crowd that had already shouted and applauded at the appearance of a seagull chick next to the chimney. Then the exclamation of astonishment, a release from the tension generated by the wait. It is a moment that has been experienced hundreds of times in history but always feels like the first time. It is the charm of mystery, of absolute secrecy, that captivates and involves in this era where everything is visible, everything is exposed and told. No one knows the name for over an hour, only the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel keep it.
The festive bells of the Basilica provide a background to the cheers of the people who applauded when the cardinal protodeacon, Dominique Mamberti, came out to announce the Latin formula of the announcement.
“Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum…”
In the Sistine Chapel before the appearance
At that same moment, in the Sistine Chapel, in front of his fellow electors gathered in Conclave, the new Pope expressed consent to the canonical election and, according to the Ordo rituum conclavis, chose the pontifical name: Leone XIV. The cardinal first of the order of bishops formally accepted the election.
The Pope then went to the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel, to the so-called “Room of Tears,” to remove the red-purple robes and experience some moments of intimacy: in prayer, alone. Well, not alone but with God, imploring from Him the strength to take on this crucial task and receive the embrace of the five continents with the white robes of the Roman Pontiff.
The ovation
“Long live the Pope! Long live the Pope!” is heard in the square, and at one point even an “Olé, olé.” A group sings the Salve Regina on the day when the Church celebrates the Madonna of Pompeii. The Pontiff himself will also remember her in his first words, asking everyone to recite the Ave Maria. Who knows if that echo reached the sealed windows of the Sistine Chapel, under the majestic Michelangelo fresco, where in the meantime the first among the cardinal deacons read the Gospel passage in which Christ entrusts his Church to Peter and his successors the primacy of the apostolic ministry.
At the end, the electors paid, one by one, the act of homage and obedience. The Pope welcomed each one standing in front of the altar. Then he himself intoned the Te Deum and as Cardinal Mamberti, from the balcony in the heart of St. Peter’s Basilica, announced in Latin the long-awaited election, he began his walk to the balcony. Preceded by the processional cross, he appeared in the square. Hands raised in greeting, then joined in gratitude. A greeting urbi et orbi, to the city and the world, transmitted from every site and TV channel that interrupted all broadcasts to connect with Rome.
The first words
7:22 pm, the time of the appearance. In the minutes before the parade of musical bands, the hymns, the Italian and Vatican City State anthems, the honor guard, the ovation, the intertwining flags of different nations, a coming and going of ultra-octogenarian cardinals on the square, the cameras and cameras of over 7,000 media outlets from around the world pointed towards the heavy red velvet drapes. Then the debut with that “peace be with all of you” that immediately established a familiarity, which deepened with the greeting in Spanish to his diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, “where a faithful people accompanied their bishop, shared their faith, and gave so much, so much to continue to be the faithful Church of Jesus Christ.”
The grateful memory of Pope Francis
The familiarity turned into emotion with the grateful memory of the predecessor Francis and his last hours on this earth. The Argentine Pope who “blessed Rome, gave his blessing to the whole world, to the whole world, that Easter morning,” said his successor.
C’è qualcuno che ha chiesto di continuare con quella stessa benedizione: “Dio ci ama, Dio vi ama tutti e il male non prevarrà! Siamo tutti nelle mani di Dio. Quindi, senza paura, uniti con Dio e tra di noi, procediamo mano nella mano. Siamo seguaci di Cristo. Cristo ci precede”.
Il mondo ha bisogno della sua luce. L’umanità ha bisogno di Lui come ponte per essere raggiunta da Dio e dal suo amore. Aiutateci anche voi, aiutandoci a costruire ponti, con il dialogo, con l’incontro, unendoci tutti per essere un solo popolo sempre in pace. Grazie a Papa Francesco!
C’è stato un fragoroso applauso in quel momento, segno che Jorge Mario Bergoglio è presente. Dal cielo, ma presente. Infine, l’indulgenza plenaria concessa a coloro che hanno ricevuto la prima benedizione del nuovo Successore di Pietro. Inizia un cammino, inizia una storia, inizia una nuova epoca. “Viva il Papa!”
