WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The news spread quickly May 8 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, festooned in papal gold and white bunting.
Not so much about the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Provost, the 267th pontiff and now known as Pope Leo XIV. The staff at the Washington basilica had all gathered around TVs to savor the history and the splendor.
It was about what had occurred near the end of the noon Mass in the Crypt Church, when Msgr. Vito Buonanno, the basilica’s associate rector and director of pilgrimages, made the announcement of the new pope’s name and nationality while the enormous celebration in St. Peter’s Square was still going on.
The monsignor had leapt for joy.
He omitted the leap at the beginning of the 5:15 p.m. Mass, but the gusto remained.
“Habemus Papam!” Msgr. Buonanno shouted, pumping both arms as the congregation of slightly more than 100 cheered. “And he’s American!”
Excitement and gratitude
And that bit of information, for anyone strolling around the basilica waiting for the Mass to begin, was about all that anyone had.
Unless someone was scrolling through the new pope’s social media, diving into the wave of news articles or glued to cable news channels, all of Pope Leo XIV’s identity they had at their grasp was that he’s American, grew up in Chicago and is a Chicago White Sox fan.
“I was taken aback,” Maria Contoq, a docent guide at the basilica, told OSV News. “I didn’t know what to think. An American!”
“At first I was nervous taking it all in,” said Ivan Peinapo, visiting the basilica from Oregon. But he watched the new pope’s face carefully for any trace of emotion.
“His smile said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s OK.’ I think he has to be very strong, you know.”
Hilia Elizabeth Lewis, a real estate broker from Kensngton, Maryland, said she’d known it was a special day that morning while she was going to work. She experienced a momentary vision, which she quickly shared with her friend, retired Msgr. Joseph Ranieri.
“It was the infant Jesus with white smoke coming out of his mouth,” she told OSV News. “I just knew we were going to have a pope today. I knew that the Holy Spirit would choose the right one.”
Jeo Genes, who has fond memories of seeing St. John Paul II when he visited Cebu, his home province in the Philippines, said he hoped for a pope “who will bring us back to orthodoxy,” particularly on issues of family and sexuality.
When Pope Francis visited Washington in 2015, both his parents were able to get a good viewing spot as the popemobile drove down Constitution Avenue, but he could not. “That, to me, foretold something that was not good for me,” he said, and the pope’s statements on sexuality disappointed him. “I want (them) to be strengthened,” he said.
Mary Clement of Silver Spring, Maryland, a former basilica employee now in evangelical work, said of Leo XIV, “I think he’s a very humble person, you know. We’re grateful today that they chose someone with the greatest qualifications.”
In his homily, Msgr. Buonanno praised the conclave for giving the church “a new shepherd on Earth, and reminded the congregation that even through “the most unexpected people” in “the most unexpected places, God makes his presence known to us.”
“Jesus is the reason why you and I exist. The reason you and I can be sensitive to the needs of others,” he said. “Now we look to Pope Leo to give to us the example of the Good Shepherd.”
Students celebrate
At The Catholic University of America next door to the basilica, students were watching the jumbo TV screens at Murphy’s Pub on campus. They cheered and then listened with rapt attention as the new Pope Leo XIV appeared for the first time.
Elsewhere in the Archdiocese of Washington, cheers echoed through the hallways as students moved between classes at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland, on May 8.
“We have a new pope!” one student shouted. Another added, “He’s American!”
At Don Bosco Cristo Rey — a Catholic high school sponsored by the archdiocese and the Salesians of Don Bosco — the excitement was palpable.
“I think that it’s wonderful to have a pope coming from our country,” said sophomore Fernando Garcia Flores, whose parents are from Honduras. “He’s the very first American pope, and I feel like it’s a wonderful opportunity. God chose him to be the leader of the Catholic Church.”
For many younger students, this is their first time witnessing a conclave and papal transition.
Kimberly Viera, a freshman, admitted she didn’t know much about the process before.
“It was really intense, especially with all the voting,” she told the Catholic Standard, news outlet of the Washington Archdiocese. “But now that we have a new pope, I’m just so happy, you know? I love his accent!”
When asked what young Catholics need most today, Viera didn’t hesitate.
“The light of the Lord,” she said. “With everything going on in the world, people just need to follow God and believe in him.”
Kurt Jensen writes for OSV News from Washington. Contributing to this report were reporter Nicole Olea and editor Mark Zimmermann of the Catholic Standard, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Updated May 9, 2025, at 3:26 p.m. ET
