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LAST UPDATE | 8 May
ABOUT FIVE MINUTES before the white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, I was sitting in the shade, out of eyesight of the famous chimney.
I felt a knot in my stomach – I had come all this way and missed the famous white smoke.
However, it was a false alarm and the giant cheer that went up in the Square was in fact caused by… a baby seagull.
A few minutes before the white smoke arose from the Sistine Chapel, I was sat in the shade, out of sight of the chimney. A giant cheer went up and I had a knot in my stomach - I’d come all the way to Rome and missed the white smoke. The cheer was actually for a baby seagull. pic.twitter.com/DniuyCEzPO
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 10, 2025
When the real thing happened a few minutes later I was as ready as could be.
Noise erupted in the Square, babies were hoisted into the air, and applause rose up.
We have a pope! Habemus papam! @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/SRGLyACsk4
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
It was then over an hour before the new pope came to the central balcony of the Basilica.
“Is it Tagle?” asked one person, in reference to one of the media’s front-runners, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, dubbed the “Asian Francis”.
“I think it’s Zuppi,” said a priest, in reference to Matteo Zuppi.
Us Irish are everywhere and beside me I heard an Irish accent.
As we awaited the new pope to appear from the central balcony, he told me that it felt “spiritual” to see the white smoke.
Just moments after the white smoke, I bumped into an Irishman! He says he’s not a devout Catholic but was straight on the phone to mam back at home! @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/cVaABID98d
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
“I wouldn’t class myself as a once-a-week Mass goer, but my mother is and the first thing I did was give her a quick ring and say, ‘Ma, turn on your camera on WhatsApp so I can show you the smoke.
“It’s just overwhelming and absolutely fabulous and a once-in-a-lifetime for somebody not from here.
“It’s something that you have to tick off on your bucket list.”
He remarked that whoever emerged from the balcony would “have his work cut out for him”.
“The time we are in, hopefully he can unite the people and bring some kind of peace to this world.”
Cardinal Dominique Mamberti then emerged to say the famous “Habemus papam” – “we have a pope” in Latin.
He then announced that it was a Cardinal by the name of Robert Prevost who was elected to the office.
“Did he just say Prevost?” asked one person.
Cardinal Mamberti then announced papal name, Leo XIV.
“Did he say Leo?”
No one, including myself, seemed to know who he was – the name of Cardinal Robert Prevost didn’t appear on any list of “papabile” that I had read.
However, some young Americans close to me seemed to know the score after looking him up on their phone.
“He’s spent a lot of time working in Peru,” one of them said.
I spoke to them after Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Prevost, had re-entered St Peter’s Basilica.
These American guys beside me were able to give me a crash course on Leo XIV! @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/t1xyVuIhkP
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
“He wasn’t a name that we were expecting at all,” said one of the men. “But he’s a name we’re very happy to hear.”
The other man remarked that he came to Rome for the current Jubilee Year within the Church and did not expect to be here for a conclave.
He also didn’t expect it to end so soon.
“I was expecting it to go on maybe into next week, so it’s really crazy to be here for the new pope.”
When the new pope headed back inside St Peter’s, everyone with an American flag found themselves mobbed by the media.
A brief snippet of how popular with USA flags were after the election of the first American Pope, Leo XIV @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/BWFApE465o
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
I myself grabbed a quick word with Andrea Gallardo from Texas.
“I don’t speak Italian but when the people around me told me he was American, I was just so excited.
“I was like, ‘oh my God’, just knowing that our new pope is from the same place as I am is just very exciting.”
Spoke to Angela from Texas just after Leo XIV went back inside the Vatican @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/riC3bZrOvI
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
She said she never heard of Cardinal Prevost as being a front-runner and that she assumed one of those named as a front-runner in the media would become pope.
“But when I found out that it was actually an American pope, I was like, ‘okay, this is crazy’.”
She said she was “born and raised Catholic” and it was special to be there for the white smoke and to see the first American pope.
Meanwhile, Vatican observers on either side of the political divide are trying to stake their claim.
Some call him a liberal, while others enjoyed the fact that he wore more traditional papal attire, perhaps a nod to a return to traditionalism and away from the progressivism of Francis.
The moment Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Leo XIV, the first American pope, appeared on the central balcony of St Peter’s Square @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/pN96xrDZCC
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
And once the crowds had started to disperse, I met more Irish people in the Square.
Father Mark English, a priest in Co Meath, was joined by Aifric and Roisin.
Fr English was thankfully on hand to deliver a crash course on who the new pope is.
More Irish reaction from St Peter’s Square! @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/EsZfK6GcxN
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2025
He said it was extraordinary to be in the Square and noted that Leo XIV was an Augustinian priest and a missionary priest in South America.
He was also a Bishop in Peru and headed the Augustinian Order in Rome, and was appointed by Francis to the body that oversees who is chosen as a bishop.
“He certainly was a man that was going to be in the reckoning if they were looking for a compromise candidate,” said Fr English.
However, when it was put to Fr English that Leo XIV is a “liberal”, he shook his head and instead described him as a “unifying pope, who will bring everyone together”.
“He is a steady man to continue on the onward journey, with the inspiration of the previous popes as well.”
Meanwhile, Roisin said she organised to come over for the conclave with other young Catholics from Ireland “to see the global Church in action”, while Aifric said “there was a real sense of excitement and joy” throughout.
“At one point we’re looking at a little baby bird being fed and then the next thing you know, the smoke is coming out and everyone is going crazy and the bells start to ring.”
Per fortuna è tutto in streaming.
— Gazzismo 🐔 // DISERZIONE FINO ALLA CESSIONE (@Gazzismo) May 8, 2025
ABSOLUTE CINEMA. https://t.co/o9qZR13rTr pic.twitter.com/kvn2LoT8kU
And as for the man himself, he opened with “peace be with you”.
A Vatican spokesperson said this was in keeping with the Easter message, as these were the first words the Risen Jesus said to the disciples, according to John’s Gospel, when he found them in hiding following his crucifixion.
He added: “God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail.”
He also thanked Francis, as well as the cardinals who elected him.
And in a nod to Francis, who began the historic Synod on Synodality, Leo XIV remarked that he wants a “synodal Church”.
However, during his time in leadership positions in the Church, Prevost was the target of criticism for his handling of sexual abuse allegations made against priests.
Victims of alleged abuse at the hands of priests in Peru said he failed to investigate their complaints.
His diocese denied he had been involved in any cover-up.
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France. Always have been. Always will be.
@Vonvonic: seriously?
@Thomas O’ Donnell: I would agree with Vonvonic. The alliance goes back to Norman-Ireland. A lot of the Normans that settled in Ireland would have classed themselves as more French than English.
@Vonvonic: I would agree you only have to look at the Wolfe Tone connection
@Patrick Corr: it was at Fontenoy that the cry was heard, while charging at the British in the decisive rout by the Irish Brigade, Remember Limerick and Saxon Perfidy.
@Vonvonic: Bien sûr mon ami!
It has to be said that Irelands department of foreign affairs have done a great job over the past few years with the UN Security Council, the observer statuses, etc., but the reality is Ireland has lost our biggest ally in the EU now that the UK has gone and there are a few countries who have their eyes on several of Irelands laws and policies that they will target and not for Irelands benefit. The commenters on this site are 90% anti UK, and definitely anti everything the government does, so it’s not the best comment section to get a decent POV but it would be good to see if Irish people, in general, are aware of where we stand in the EU today
@Local Ore: The article addresses this, we build alliances on a policy basis rather than being wedded to any particular one on all things. This is a highly beneficial approach that creates political capital. The divergence of Ireland and the UK within the EU has been going on so long that when it they did leave, it impacted us far less than many expected. We are well able to plough our own furrow and protect our own interests, while keeping a pragmatic and flexible position in a fast changing world. We are also now the only EU member State with english as a first language. If we weren’t doing so well already, I’d go so far as to say that the UK’s act of self-isolation will be the making of Ireland.
@Eoin Roche: Ireland’s economic success is completely due to FDI. It was 288% of GDP in 2019. The UK accounts for far more of FDI than any EU country. In terms of exports, The US and The UK account for 41% of Irelands exports, France accounts for 4%… I mention this because France competes with Ireland far, far more than people think and they intend to target Irelands FDI, I have members of my team supporting French Public Sector bodies right now reviewing EU policies on how to target the €1Trn FDI Ireland gets. Think of the size of France, we import about €13bn from them, they import about €5bn from us. France and Germany plan to strengthen their ties and “leadership” (control) of the EU over the coming years, this isn’t to support “the making of Ireland”, it’s to grow themselves
@Eoin Roche: Dublin is now an outlier in an EU where reliance on foreign multinationals will no longer be ignored. These companies now account for 32 percent of all jobs in Ireland and 49 percent of employment taxes. 75 percent of recent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Ireland either comes from the U.S. (58 percent) or the U.K. (17 percent). By contrast, just 5 percent comes from Germany. Dublins Economic Model is the talking point of EU policymakers, as I mentioned, and we are already seeing it – harmonised corporation tax. Next will be FDI policy and they are already drawing it up to try to “harmonise” it toward other EU countries.
@Eoin Roche: Correction: Malta has English as a first language.
@Nick Caffrey: Correction: Maltese is the 1st language in Malta, English is 2nd and also an official language
@Local Ore: You are failing to differentiate between US FDI and UK FDI. The US is by far more important than the UK to us, no comparison. Why do you conflate two wildly different countries/economies?
@Leo Sharkey: I’m not conflating them in any way, I’m pointing out that Irelands largest investment, and trade, comes from outside the EU and was heavily protected by the UK supporting Ireland on policy and vice-versa. I’ve seen people on this site say France and Germany are major allies/supporters of Ireland and I wonder if it’s total lack of knowledge, deliberate ignorance or just the anti-UK sentiment of most of the commenters. Only in Ireland do people think Ireland is better off in the EU without the UK… it goes against all logic and facts. The EU is a body of consultation and common action between states, underpinned by legal and institutional arrangements. These arrangements are evolving in response to needs as they arise and France and Germany’s needs to do not align to Irelands.
France and Germany have supported us throughout the whole Brexit process and NI protocol . If they wavered in their support for us, the British would sense an opportunity and end up causing trouble in Northern Ireland.
We are more aligned with our Nordic blood brothers and france than any of the other countries in europe.
It is worth recalling that the old British policy of DIVIDE AND CONQUER failed when they attempted to disunite the EU approach to recent events.
It’s a right tough one, not Portugal or Spain because of the amount that go there on holiday, they know what we are like when let out. Not the French as they’ve always tried to help us but end up making a balls out of it and then think it’s our fault. Not Poland, they know what we’re like too from half of them being here at one stage. It wont be the Italians either as the blue shirts have given Mussolini’s black shirts a bad name! I’ll run out of characters soon so I’m sure others can fill in the blanks, who haven’t we pissed off?
@This time its personable!: Did you read the article? The Scandinavian and Benelux countries are our natural allies in Europe.
@JustMeHere: I did boy, I didn’t include them there I was pointing out the additional reasons why the others aren’t too for caring about us!
I would argue that Angela Merkel and Germany have been our quiet allies for 20 years, France, the Baltic, and Benelux states, but generally speaking we have good relationships with all our EU colleagues.
@Leo Sharkey: I literally work in this area of the public sector and can tell by this comment that you most definitely do not. France has been attacking Irelands tax and FDI for my entire career, the “Dublin Economy” drives them mad in Brussels. The Netherlands directly competes, and wins, in financial services with Ireland. Ireland has a deregulated, highly flexible global economy that lacks the comprehensive social protections of continental counterparts such as the Netherlands or Denmark, the model stands in stark contrast to the centralism unleashed from the Elysée. The countries you mention are highly focused on corporate and digital taxation, data protection and the further centralization of the eurozone – all massively damaging and contrasting to the Irish model.
Henry 8th’s break was the same mentality as Brexit. A difference is that Boris will not be confiscating assets of Europeans and calling it a reformation.
have your say