Pope Leo XIV marks new beginning for Catholic Church

VATICAN — After the sorrow of death, the joy of a new beginning.

The warm May sun was still high in the sky when a roar echoed out in the streets surrounding St Peter's Square.

One street over, startled people looked at each other, then at their phones. Then, they began to run down the narrow alleyways leading to the Vatican. "White smoke, they're saying white smoke!", they called out.

By the time they reached the square, a white haze was still hovering over the left-hand side of the Apostolic Palace where 133 cardinals had been locked away since the day before, voting to elect the new head of the Catholic Church.

As the evening sunshine streamed through the statues of the apostles on the ledge of St Peter's Basilica and bells tolled joyously over the square, young and older people zig-zagged through the crowd, and a group of nuns held hands as they swerved journalists and cameras.

It was less than three weeks ago that Pope Francis blessed the crowds from the balcony at St Peter's, and his memory hung over the square on Thursday; almost everyone asked to share their impressions mentioned Francis and the need for the new Pope to follow in his footsteps.

"We just arrived today from America," one woman named Amanda told the BBC. "It feels like a blessing. We came here for this and here it is."

"Divine timing!" she joked. Two stylish women in their 20s said they were "about to cry". "It's a historic moment, it's crazy," one said, adding she hoped the next Pope would be "at least as good as the last one".

This was a sentiment echoed by many in those last minutes before Pope Leo XIV was announced.

"It doesn't matter to us where he's from as long as he follows in on Francis' footsteps and creates unity for all of us Catholics," said a French woman as she herded her five children to get closer to the front of the square.

By the time Dominique Mamberti — the proto-deacon tasked with delivering the iconic "Habemus Papam" address to the square — appeared on the balcony, St Peter's was full to the brim. It fell silent, though, once Robert Francis Prevost's name was read out.

Those in the know may have identified the Chicago-born 69-year-old cardinal — who worked for many years as a missionary in Peru before being made a bishop there – as a potential pontiff early on.

But many people in the square looked puzzled at first, and the complete lack of phone coverage meant that most couldn't look him up on the internet — so the first impression most got of Pope Leo XIV came down to the way he introduced himself from the ornate balcony.

Visibly moved at first, and dressed in white and red vestments and speaking in confident — if lightly accented — Italian, he read out a much lengthier speech than the remarks made by his predecessor Francis in 2013.

"I would like this greeting of peace to reach all your hearts and families... and people around the world. May peace be with you," the new Pope began as the square fell silent.

At other moments, his address was met with frequent warm applause, especially when he mentioned "peace" — which he did on nine occasions — and the late Francis.

A section of the speech delivered in Spanish in which Pope Leo XIV remembered his time in Peru was met with cheers from various pockets of South Americans dotted across the square.

He also insisted on the need for unity, and at the end asked everyone to join together in prayer. When he began reciting Ave Maria, a deep hum rose as the square followed suit, with some praying in their own languages.

The crowd began to slowly amble out of the square shortly after. As people streamed past them, a young couple held each other close, beaming. "I still have goosebumps," said Carla, from Barcelona.

"The energy is contagious, it's amazing — it's our first time here, and for me it's 100% surreal," said Juan, who is from Ecuador and had never been to the Vatican before. Asked what his hope for Pope Leo XIV was, he said: "That the Holy Spirit guides him. I hope that means we can all be united together going forward."

Gemma, a Rome resident, said she hadn't even heard the name Robert Prevost until she came across it on Instagram this morning. "The reaction of the square wasn't that warm," her friend Marco added.

"If he'd been Italian everyone would have kicked off." "But it was a beautiful evening, a beautiful occasion," said Gemma. "It was my first conclave. And this new Pope is only 69, so who knows when the next one will be?"

The square emptied. The restaurants around the Vatican filled up with pilgrims, clergy, and tourists. Couples snapped the last selfies outside the basilica.

Over in the Apostolic Palace — now unsealed — Robert Prevost held a moment of private prayer.

Then, for the first time, he re-entered the Sistine Chapel as Leo XIV, the 267th Pope. — BBC