In a moment reminiscent of Pope John Paul II's 1978 installation Mass, the new pope said, in Italian, "Be not afraid! Welcome the call of the church and of Christ the Lord."
Leo said he will follow in the modernizing reforms of Pope Francis to make the Catholic Church inclusive, attentive to the faithful and a church that looks out for the "least and rejected.”
For cardinals who came from such different parts of the world, it was a feat but also an act of unity to elect someone in less than 24 hours, Cardinal Wilton Gregory told the press. "I think we did well."
When white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel revealing that a new pope had been chosen, John Prevost turned on his television in Illinois, called his niece and they watched in awe as his brother's name was announced.
After white smoke billowed Thursday from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a pope had been chosen, students in every classroom at The Frances Xavier Warde School in Chicago had their eyes glued to TV screens.
