SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Pope Leo XIV is the new head of the Roman Catholic Church, and Pope Leo XIV is from the United States of America.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
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DETROW: In the conclave's second day, the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old from Chicago, as the church's 267th pope.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
DETROW: NPR's Ruth Sherlock was in the crowd at St. Peter's Square when it happened. Ruth, what was it like?
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Hi. Yeah, well, if there's one thing the Catholic Church does well, it's these incredible spectacles of color and history. I was just standing there looking at St. Peter's Basilica silhouetted against the fading evening light - swallows overhead. And all around me, there were people engaging in prayer, like, three ladies praying in their language from Bangladesh, Italian priests. Everybody praying for the right choice of pope. Now, what that means is different to everybody. People from Bangladesh wanted somebody from Bangladesh.
DETROW: Sure.
SHERLOCK: Others just wanted the right - hope that the Holy Spirit had chosen - you know, made God's choice, if you like. And then, suddenly, kind of almost out of nowhere, this billowing white smoke, and everybody's waiting, singing, celebrations, bands in the crowd. And then, as he emerges onto the balcony in St. Peter's Basilica and his name is said, in a way, there was actually almost kind of a sort of confusion because the speakers are not actually that good. People were asking themselves, sorry, who? What? What? What's going on?
DETROW: Right.
SHERLOCK: They were, like, desperate to understand. And then, gradually, you heard the name Prevost starting to come through the crowd.
DETROW: This is the first American pope. We will have a lot more on his background throughout the rest of the show. But Ruth, with you, I'm wondering how people reacted to that news.
SHERLOCK: Well, you know, excitement and also some disappointment - we are in Italy, and it's been almost 50 years since an Italian pope. And Italians were among the front-runners, so there was lots of actual anger around me, some people seriously disappointed. But then, I came across two American sisters in the crowd, Leila and Jenna Brown, and spoke with them.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: I would never guessed in a million years - soon as it happened - I'm really, really happy.
SHERLOCK: Isn't that - it's so exciting.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Yes, it is.
SHERLOCK: So you came all the way to Rome...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Yes, yes.
SHERLOCK: ...Just for this?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Yes.
SHERLOCK: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Yes, we came from Seattle. Yes, just for this, and it's first American pope.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: I'm so happy.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: I'm just so thrilled. There's - oh...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Like, I can't believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Like, I - yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: ...I can't believe it. Hopefully, this brings Catholicism to America more.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Yeah.
DETROW: Ruth, you've been talking to people for several days now. What are some of the themes you have been hearing from people in and around Rome in recent days?
SHERLOCK: You know, I think the thing that struck people about Pope Francis was this decision he made - or his personality, perhaps, it was - to try to kind of be with the people, to try to not let his extraordinary job kind of take him away from the more normal. So, for example, he was pretty scathing of some of the more ornate religious dress. He used to call that grandma's lace, and people like that. People like being able to connect with him on a human level. And I think that's something I heard again and again that people want from this next pope - somebody who is trying to reflect the needs of ordinary citizens all over the world, especially perhaps in nations where there is poverty and a lot of humanitarian suffering. Pope Francis, of course, was very outspoken, you know, looking at conflicts around the world, supporting people speaking out against humanitarian suffering, for example, in the conflict in Gaza. And I think people were hoping that maybe that legacy is continued.
DETROW: Ruth, I was stuck here in our broadcast space the whole time. I didn't get out in the middle of the crowd as much as you did. Who were the kinds of people who come into St. Peter's Square at this moment to see a new pope?
SHERLOCK: I mean, just incredible variety - it's amazing walking through the crowd because you hear languages from all over the world. It's such an international scene. And then you had - people had brought their small children, tiny babies. I've met somebody who's had a baby who's just days old...
DETROW: Wow.
SHERLOCK: ...You know, coming hoping that they would be blessed by the new pope, also a French woman in a shimmering gold sequin, floor-length ball gown had come to celebrate this moment - a real variety, not just people in religious dress - priests - but also people from all over the world.
DETROW: That is NPR's Ruth Sherlock, our Rome correspondent, who was in the crowd in St. Peter's Square at this big moment. Thank you so much, Ruth.
SHERLOCK: Thanks so much, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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