Leo XIV

Red Baron took part in a long-planned pilgrimage* to Rome from May 7 to May 10. 

*Two blogs to come    

It happened so that our group was on the plane from Frankfurt to Rome when the cardinals under the age of 80 entered the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pontiff following the death of Pope Francis.

We then expected a long wait. 

And indeed, the evening of May 7 saw black smoke.

The Vatican seagulls on the roof of the Sistine Chapel were a worthwhile photo opportunity. Wait a minute. Isn't that smoke white?

 

On 8 May at 18:08:

Habemus papam!

But then, there was an uncommonly long wait for the new pope. The television stations passed the time by taking pictures of the balcony of St. Peter's Church pointing their cameras at the fabric through which He was to pass.

 

Leo announced in flawless Italian:  La pace sia con tutti voi

It was not until 19:17 that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago stepped through the curtain as Leo XIV onto the balcony of St. Peter's Square.

With only five ballots, this conclave was short in church history. The New York Times immediately found the reason for this. The cardinals were hurrying to leave the Sistine Chapel because the food was not so good.

Above are two comments from the cardinals about their meals.

The following morning, our group toured St. Peter's Basilica. Before entering, the Vatican spoiled us with a copy of the May 9 edition of L'Osservatore Romano.

 

On our later tour of the city, we passed a coffee shop on our way to Castel Sant'Angelo. The resourceful manager advertised "his" Americano in a way that coffee lovers would understand.

Finally, the following day at the Vatican Museum, Pope Leo and Red Baron celebrated His election with a High Five.

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