When Cardinal Dominique Mambertì appeared on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and uttered the fateful Latin phrase “Habemus Papam” (We have a pope), more than a hundred thousand people cheered.
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When he read out the new pope’s name in Latin – Robertum Franciscum Prevost (Robert Francis Prevost) – the crowd fell silent. Many had no clue that the first US pope in the history of the 2,000-year church had just been elected.
In some cases, it was reporters who told people in the crowd who the new pope was.
“I had absolutely no idea who he was. I was hoping for an African pope so more parts of the world would be represented,” said Veronica Genovese, a Roman.
“I came here from work. I was expecting an Italian. I don’t know who he is,” said Federica Bonomi, another Rome resident.
The initial reaction was similar to when Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland was elected the first non-Italian pope in 455 years in 1978. Because of the difficulty even the cardinal who announced the name had in pronouncing Polish many in the crowd 47 years ago thought an African had been elected.
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