DC-area Catholics react to election of first American pope
The nation’s capital celebrated a historic second Thursday. The election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American from Chicago, marks a big chapter within the historical past of the Catholic Church and a unprecedented milestone for the USA — one which’s introduced an amazing outpouring of happiness.
WASHINGTON – The nation’s capital is celebrating a historic second — the election of the primary American pope. Cardinal Robert Prevost has been named Pope Leo XIV.
The choice of Prevost, an American from Chicago, marks a big chapter within the historical past of the Catholic Church and a unprecedented milestone for the USA — one which’s introduced an amazing outpouring of happiness.
At midday mass on Thursday, parishioners at St. Matthews Cathedral in D.C. had been shocked and elated when the priest saying mass introduced that Cardinal Prevost had been elected as the brand new pope. Your entire cathedral broke out into applause.
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On the Bascilica of the Nationwide Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, they hung an American flag and adorned the shrine with bunting within the papal colours of white and gold.
What they’re saying:
The Nationwide Shrine and the Catholic College of America sit facet by facet on the identical campus in Northeast D.C., so, as you possibly can think about, it didn’t take lengthy for college students who’ve been following the conclave intently — the College’s group title is the ‘Cardinals’ in spite of everything — to pour out of their dorm rooms and head to the shrines from steps to rejoice this primary American pope.
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“As quickly as they mentioned Prevost, I sort of jumped up, and I mentioned, ‘that’s an American!’ And all my mates shortly shut me up so they may right here it,” one scholar instructed FOX 5.
“Folks maintain saying America doesn’t have religion, America doesn’t have religion. Now we have religion, we’re so anticipated and we love this pope,” mentioned one other.
An surprising selection:
Not many papal pundits had talked about Cardinal Prevost main up the conclave however Monsignor Ronald Jameson of St. Matthews says that’s why he is the precise man for the job.
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“To everybody in our Catholic religion, the pope is central and we flip to him for management, we flip to him for steering and we flip to him to assist lead us to the Lord,” Jameson mentioned.
What’s subsequent:
With the conclave now concluded, the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert Mcelvoy, will return to Washington together with the Apostolic Nuncio to the USA, Cardinal Christophe Pierre. Basilica officers say the cardinals will maintain a “Mass of Thanksgiving” for Pope Leo XIV on the Nationwide Shrine within the coming days.
