School children cheered, church bells rang and Catholics gathered around TVs as white-smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on the afternoon of May 8 to announce the election of Pope Leo XIV.
Earlier that morning, Sacred Heart Model School’s second- and third-grade students heard from Dr. Michael Bratcher, former principal and school parent, who Zoomed with them live from where he stood in St. Peter’s Square awaiting the conclave’s results.
The students had the opportunity to ask Bratcher questions about his experience earlier that day, when black smoke announced failed morning ballots.
Only a few hours later, a little after 12 p.m. EDT, church bells tolled at St. Raphael Church as news of white smoke traveled quickly across the Atlantic Ocean and social media.
In anticipation of the announcement of the newly elected Holy Father, St. Albert the Great School students, staff and faculty gathered in St. Albert Church to watch a livestream of the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Across town, Archdiocese of Louisville employees gathered at the Maloney Center to await the Holy Father’s introduction.
As Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, greeted tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square, cheers rang from Catholic school classrooms across the archdiocese. Photos and videos, including one video of Assumption High School students waving Vatican flags and American flags in their classroom, spread across the archdiocese.
