Dorchester students take part in own papal conclave

DORCHESTER, Mass. (WHDH) -- White smoke: the sign that a new pope has been chosen.

Students at Pope John Paul II Academy in Dorchester built a replica of what the church will use to signal the election of the new pope.

Students are testing the white smoke with dry ice, waiting for the moment when there really is a new pope.

“They love it because they’re participating in the whole process,” a faculty member said.

Students at the school are acting as their own papal conclave, even casting their ballots for the new pope.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley was a top favorite among the students, and they’d like to see him as the next pope.

“That’d be awesome, ‘cause he’s from Boston. A pope from Boston, I just think that would be cool,” said Joshua Debarros, a student.

Cardinal O’Malley founded Pope John Paul II Academy.

Students got to pick a name if they were ever elected pope.

“I said Pope Saint Clare. Because she cures eyes, and I want to be a doctor when I grow up,” one student said.