"Habemus Papam!" (We have a Pope!)

This conclave was far shorter than I would have expected... I would have said definitely by the end of this week we would have a Pope.  But at the fifth or sixth vote?  Wow.

The newly elected Pope Francis seems to be a peaceful, humble man.  (Most Jesuits I know are neither!)  I admire his choice of name, and totally loved his asking for a moment of silence in prayer for him.  And you could hear a pin drop in St. Peter's Square.   I would have given ANYTHING to be there.  It would have been a million times better than being in Times Square on New Years Eve.

It is said that he was close in running when Pope Emeritus Benedict was elected, and that he, in second place, pleaded with his brother cardinals to NOT elect him.  Now knowing that, I'm sure that had something to do with the speed of his selection.  I hope God blesses him, and inspires him to be the right mix of traditionalist AND reformer.  God knows we need some help in moving the Roman Church forward and shaking it free of the chains of scandal which bind it.  It is said that St. Francis himself ventured to Rome and told the then-Pope that this church needed reformation.  Hopefully, his taking the name Francis will kind of point toward that end.

I loved his speaking Italian so beautifully, albeit with a slight Spanish accent.  And I understood every word he said, and wished that the woman translating for Fox News would just shut up, because I didn't need her interpretation and 'umms' and 'ahhhs'.  Geez, some people get PAID for speaking, you'd think they'd find someone who didn't stammer every other word.  But I digress!

Anyway, I guess the point of this little 'rant' is that maybe now the never ending media coverage will END, and that the haters will leave my Church alone.  Haters can't bash Catholics any better, and maybe they're having fun because they can't have this kind of published hate toward Muslims or other groups.  Maybe they can now go back to worrying about reality shows and how many times the KarTrashians marry and reproduce.  Let this seemingly humble man take the reins and guide the Church onto a better path, and Fox can go back to worrying about the Obam-ination and his bands of merry thieves.

May God bless Pope Francis, and may the Holy Spirit guide him!