Habemus Papem!

Written on March 13, 2013:

“We have a Pope!  There’s white smoke.  We have a Pope!” was all I heard as they rushed into the office.  Rather than our usual Wednesday tradition of running into the office to dig into our dinners, we instead raced to our computers to see who could first find out what was going on.  Pictures of white smoke billowing out of the Vatican covered the screens as we pulled up the BBC News.  As others pulled out the bags of chips, pasties, sausages, chicken, and curry while gathering plates and cups, Siobhan placed her computer prominently streaming live coverage from St. Peter’s square.  I said a quick prayer of blessing over the food, our youth program that evening, and our new pope.  Excitement fills the air as we eagerly await the announcement of who is the Bishop of Rome. 

The West Belfast Lifeline team has a tradition of eating a chippy (thick cut French fries with chicken, sausages, pasties (don’t ask) with curry dip) together before our lifeline night.  Lifeline is a program for 15-18s cycling through a rotation of nights including coffee bars, life skills training, sacred space prayer, and small groups.  Our team is quite rowdy, loud, and crazy most dinners.  Sometimes, it does my head in.  However tonight, I felt so unified, excited, and encouraged by my Christian brothers and sisters (most of whom are Catholic) yet we were all united by the fact that we were witnessing history taking place.  Stories were swapped about different candidates and “bets” (they weren’t even proper bets) were made about where he would be from and at what time “exactly” it would be announced.  We talked about how many people in the world were watching this – way more than any football match.  I was quickly scanning the screen for my American friends who were studying in Rome.  My heart was overjoyed by the sight I was beholding in St. Peter’s Square.   We would all lean forward telling everyone to be quiet each time the crowds clapped.

Then at 7:13 a few minutes after the lights filled the windows, the announcement was made “Habemus Papem!” “We have a Pope!”  After telling Curtis several times to be quiet, (supposedly he guessed the exact time of the announcement) Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio- now named Pope Francis- was announced as the Bishop of Rome.  The news is rapidly giving facts about a humble Jesuit priest from Buenos Aires at the age of 76 becoming the first Latin American and Jesuit pope… and he chose the name Francis.  Do you know what Jesus said to Francis? “Build My Church.”  May the Lord continue to whisper the same thing into Pope Francis’ ear, heart, mind, and soul… “Build My Church.” 

I’m already struck by his humility, his gentleness, his strength, his surety.  I can tell he’s a man of prayer and courage.  He’s traditional, yet a man of great generosity with a heart for the poor.  He’s truly a pope that I can feel like I can relate to.  He asked us to pray for him before he even prayed for us.  He truly needs our strength through our prayers.  My heartstrings were pulled when he was praying the Hail Mary in Spanish (I believe, but later came to find it was Italian).  Anyways, there was a bit that I remember that brought me back to when I learned the Hail Mary in Spanish in South Minneapolis at the Missionaries of Charity studying and praying with the older boys.  I loved those boys so much.  They struggled in school because they didn’t know English very well- maybe that’s because they were sometimes deported from the country.  They were poor and they struggled, yet they really tried on their school work.  I loved helping them.  I was inspired by the humility of the sisters and their deep love for the Lord and these children.  It just blew me away.  It was there in those little moments that God started breaking my heart for His The City… for His people.  It’s a moment that’s hard to put into words.  A moment that flashes before your eyes, yet makes an impact that I won’t forget. 

God’s about something big here, and I’m really excited about it.  I don’t know what it is.  I don’t know what Pope Francis is going to do or how God’s going to work through him, but I will be praying for him.  For now though, I am soaking in the blessing of the night.  Gathering around the computer, chippy in hand, waiting for the announcement of the new Pope.  Feeling incredibly blessed that I am living and working in a Catholic community.  Being convicted in new ways to share the faith and work towards the renewal of the Church here in this community.  Longing for the Kingdom to truly come into the Colin neighborhood.  Dreaming big dreams knowing that God is the one who knows the desires of our hearts, and He is the one who provides away.  Come Lord Jesus come.