Cal Poly and Central Coast Catholics react to American pope

This is a cross-published piece with Mustang News, more information can be found here.

“Habemus papam!” A top cardinal shouted “We have a Pope!” in Latin from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City yesterday morning, announcing to the world that a the first American pope had been chosen, according to the Associated Press. 

The first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church is Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, who chose the name Pope Leo XIV, according to the Associated Press.  

Cal Poly and the Central Coast react

Impacting 1.406 billion Catholics globally, Cal Poly and Central Coast communities shared the worldwide excitement of the newly selected Pope. An assembly of cardinals select new popes through the process known as a papal conclave.

Agricultural business freshman Thomas Rosa, a member of the Catholic Church, was stunned to see a pope from the United States. Rosa said he watched the livestream of the announcement of the papal conclave alongside his peers at the Newman Catholic Center, where the room reacted with a collective, positive surprise. 

“They said his name and one of the people was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s American!’” Rosa said. “No one expected an American pope, like that wasn’t on any radar. If you read anything beforehand or listen to anything, no one was thinking it would be an American.”

This election made some students feel a greater connection between the Catholic Church and their personal faith. Nutrition sophomore Lexie Vanasse is a member of the church and worker at the Newman Catholic Center.

“I think for me, this is obviously the first pope that I feel like I’m truly like in my faith and I can fully appreciate it,” she said. 

The decision also invoked a sense of pride for some Americans, including Chancellor of the Diocese of Monterey, Deacon David Ford.

“As Americans, I think all of us were proud that he comes from our country, from North America, and the last pope came from South America,” Ford said. “So it’s kind of like we used to call it, the New World.”

Within the celebrations of the election of Pope Leo XIV, Rosa continued to reflect on the life of Pope Francis after his passing last month. 

“There was a period of mourning, and we definitely celebrated his life as well as looked back on it,” Rosa said. “That was a really sad event, and now you have this, which is so exciting, so hopeful. Pope Francis was a good man with a very good heart.”