Texans living, visiting Rome welcome Pope Leo

After a “normal” Thursday morning of classes at the Pontifical North American College (PNAC) in Rome — which is a five-minute sprint or a 10-minute walk from the campus to St. Peter’s Square — Sicking went to the square that morning to see black smoke. 

Then, that evening, he came back for the conclave’s next round of voting, which, as the world knows, resulted in the election of Pope Leo XIV. 

After a pause of shock, Sicking said next came a wave of excitement and joy, maybe even adrenaline, that caused him to run into the frenetic crowd to watch the white smoke rising and wait for the new pope to step out onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

While waiting in the packed square surrounded by people of all ages, cultures and vocations, Sicking, who calls Sacred Heart in Richmond home, said he felt moved to begin to pray the Our Father for the new pope. 

“I said them slowly, entrusting all to God and believing that His will would be done,” he said. 

Reflecting later, Sicking said he realized a major grace that he received from his time in the square was the inspiration to think about the pope’s humanity and his own as well.

“I wondered at how incredible it is that a human being (was) about to walk out onto that balcony and take up the task of guiding God’s Church, of shepherding Christ’s Sheep,” he said. “While my own heart was beating with anticipation, I pondered how a single human heart could embrace, with love and affection, the entire people of God and, indeed, the entire world. That, by divine ordination, one man was about to take up such a great responsibility ... of loving and serving God’s Church and becoming for all people a living icon of God’s love and presence in the world. What a marvel God was working!”

Eventually, Pope Leo came forth with a smile and a wave to greet the crowd and the world, sharing a message of peace and giving his first Urbi et Orbi message and papal blessing.

Leading up to the conclave, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo stayed at the PNAC, where he was able to meet with Sicking and other seminarians from the U.S. 

Sicking said spending time with Cardinal DiNardo, who had been his ordinary “for as long as he could remember,” was special because he learned from Cardinal DiNardo as the seminarian watched the cardinal  “prepare for and then return from the work God had called him here to do in the conclave.”

“The beauty and fruit of these interactions were not that I gained some kind of ‘inside knowledge’ of the conclave process, but rather that I got to witness and be inspired by the holiness and humility of Cardinal DiNardo, by his great love for the Church and for the Lord, and by his deep faith and trust in the Holy Spirit,” Sicking said. “He understood the importance of the role God has called him to play at this moment in the Church, carried at the same time an interior peace that stems from his trust in the promise of Our Lord Jesus to be with the Church always; He who is the true and eternal shepherd of the sheep.”

Father Francis Macatangay, pastor of Houston’s St. Cecilia Catholic Church, started running toward the Vatican when he heard bells tolling and joined the crowd, including nuns in habits, rushing to find out about the new pope.

“We could feel the excitement and expectation. We were there for the unfolding of history right before our eyes,” Father Macatangay said.

As they gathered around the plaza, screens all over the square announced a general confirmation of a new pope’s election. 

When the name was announced, the hordes quieted down as if not hearing correctly for a moment. 

“Prevost? I never thought we would have an American pope in my lifetime,” he said.

The priest, along with Father Wayne Wilkerson, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Sealy, led a group of 47 pilgrims from their churches and several other parishes to initially attend an audience with Pope Francis. Instead, they were in Rome in time for the conclave to select his successor.

Father Wilkerson said, “I am thrilled with the new Holy Father and his name selection, which is rooted in social justice. Even in the small, rural town I’m in, there is fear with this current government. Now, there is great hope.”

They were present to receive Pope Leo XIV’s first papal blessing and to hear his remarks that he had written, putting pen to paper in a measured approach despite the swirling around him. 

In addition to being there for the election, the group also attended Mass at St. Mary Major and paid respects at the tomb of Pope Francis. They also prayed at seven basilicas and churches through their Holy Doors, which opened for the Jubilee Year. †