Birmingham Bishop Steven Raica celebrates Mass of Thanksgiving for election of new Pope
CBS 42 News attended the service and spoke with those in attendance about their reaction to the news that the conclave had elected an American-born pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost, to head the Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first mass in Vatican City on Friday.
Here in Birmingham, we asked Bishop Raica to explain the significance of Friday's mass.
'Today is a Mass of gratitude and thanksgiving for the election of a new Pope for us,' he said. 'We are grateful for the providence that the Cardinals have provided through the action of the Holy Spirit.'
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Some of the parishioners we spoke with at St. Paul's Cathedral said they were surprised to learn a Chicago native had been elected as the 267th pope.
'When I heard the name Roberto, I thought, 'Is it Robert Sarah, the Cardinal from Africa?' And then they said Prevost, and I heard a little bit about him, and I said, 'It's an American.' I was amazed, I think none of us were expecting that,' Brian Christine said.
'We were all excited that Pope Leo chose his name,' said Nino Yutiamco, whose 4-year-old son's name is Leo.
Steve Harmon, a former faculty member at Samford's Beeson Divinity School, is in Rome reporting for Good Faith Media.
'There were people overcome with emotion, some laughing, some crying, definitely a very emotional moment with a great crowd of people experiencing the same thing,' he explained.
Bishop Raica said he plans to travel to Rome within the next two years with other Bishops from the region to deliver a report on church matters to Pope Leo XIV.
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