Locals on tour in Rome when new pope was elected say it was an ‘incredible’ experience
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IDAHO FALLS – Less than a week after returning from a pilgrimage to the Vatican, Jerry Mariner and Shannon Rood are still in awe that they were able to witness the election of a new pope.
The Idaho Falls residents are members of the Pope Saint John Paul II parish. They returned last week from an 11-day trip to Italy sponsored by Salt and Light Catholic Radio in Boise. They were part of a tour group of about 60 people throughout the state. The purpose of the trip was to connect with members of the faith and visit holy sites during a Jubilee year.
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The last three days of the voyage were spent in Rome as Catholics across the globe descended on the Vatican.
Father Nelson Cintra tells EastIdahoNews.com that the trip was booked about a year in advance, and the timing, which aligned with Pope Francis’s death and Leo XIV’s election, was coincidental.
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“It was incredible. It’s definitely something none of us could’ve planned for. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something like this,” Cintra says. “The priest in charge of our parish lived in Rome for four years, and he didn’t get to experience something like this. We were very fortunate to be there.”
Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, is the first pope from the United States. The 69-year-old hails from Chicago, Illinois, but has spent most of his ministry as a missionary in Peru. His election as pope was revealed last Thursday, on the evening of the conclave’s second day.
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Though Cintra was surprised by the selection of an American pope, he says Leo XIV’s country of origin is irrelevant.
“It’s not about citizenship, it’s about who the person is, how well he knows God, how well he knows Catholicism and humanity, sin and redemption. That transcends any national boundaries,” says Cintra.
Still, it was an exciting moment for the Americans who were at the Vatican that day. Mariner says he and his wife were in a restaurant in Rome at the time, surrounded by dozens of U.S. citizens. When the new pope was announced, Mariner heard many of the patrons joyfully exclaim, “He’s an American!”
Rood says it was about 6:15 p.m. when she saw the white smoke signaling the selection of a new pope coming from the Sistine Chapel. She was there with her son and recalls what it was like.
“We were just sitting there, and then we heard something. We looked up and saw the smoke, and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh! I can’t believe we’re here witnessing this moment,'” Rood says.
Video footage from CNN that day shows a cheering crowd applauding as they see white smoke emerging from the building.
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Rood says the mood was joyful as people anticipated hearing who the new pope would be.
After hearing the news, Rood stayed to watch his address from St. Peter’s Basilica when he uttered his first words as pontiff: “Peace be with you.”
“We didn’t understand a word,” Rood says, laughing. “We wished they had subtitles so we could understand.”
Regardless, Rood was filled with shock, disbelief, and “joy and jubilation” to be there at such a historic moment.
“The joy! Everyone had joy! It just floods you. It’s amazing to be there and see him come out on the balcony,” she says.
Earlier in the tour, Rood and Mariner stopped to see Pope Francis’s tomb outside the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. They describe a chaotic scene as heads of state and throngs of people from all over the world gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“It holds like 200,000 or 300,000 people. The scale is immense!” says Rood. “And there’s little old me walking past Pope Francis’ tomb. It was incredible. I don’t know how to describe it.”
It’s significant to Mariner that out of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, he was one of the few hundred thousand who was there to witness the succession of the papacy.
“It’s something that’s going to be a memory for the rest of our lives,” Mariner says.
Mariner tears up as he thinks of Rood being there with her son.
“He’s going to carry that with him forever, being there with his mom in that moment,” he says.
