St. John the Baptist students excited for new pope

PEABODY, Mass. (WHDH) -- Excited students at St. John the Baptist School in Peabody watched Pope Francis’ announcement live on Wednesday.

White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel just a few minutes after 2 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, signaling a new pope was elected. Church bells at St. John the Baptist began ringing and students cheered to learn Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope.

Students, who haven’t seen this before, said it is a day they won’t forget.

“I was excited. I was like, you know what? It’s nice to have a universal pope instead of a country pope,” said Shane Braz, a student. “There was a huge cheer. The church inside was crazy. It was a beautiful place to be in.”

“We were surprised today,” said Father John Macinnis of St. John the Baptist Church. “I think it’s kind of good to be surprised once in a while because we like to think we’re in charge and we know who the people are going to be.”

There was some disappointment that local cardinal Sean O’Malley was not elected pope, but everyone said it was exciting nonetheless, and they said O’Malley could always be considered next time.