Charlestown Catholics React To New Pope

Newly elected Pope Francis has already made a positive impression on several Catholics in Charlestown.

The 266th leader of the Catholic Church was introduced Wednesday afternoon, speaking to a crowd from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican about an hour after white smoke pouring from the roof of the Sistine Chapel signaled that a new pope had been elected. The position has been empty since Feb. 28, when Pope Benedict XVI stepped down after eight years.

Chosen to replace him was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina and the Catholic Church’s first non-European leader in modern times, according to various news reports. He is also the first Jesuit pope and the first to take the name “Francis.”

Bergoglio's decision to take that name was seen as a positive move by Sister Nancy Citro, pastoral associate at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Charlestown. Citro watched live online as Pope Francis made his first public appearance.

Citro said she initially thought of St. Francis of Assisi, who is associated with peace, when she heard the chosen name, but she later thought of Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Jesuits and a great evangelist. A leader who can bring together both aspects will be a positive one indeed, she noted.

“When you change your name the whole significance of that is you become a new person,” Citro said. “He is now in Rome, so his vision of the church is going to be more global. The Catholic Church is unified but it is also diverse, and the way he has begun to represent himself to the world seems to take that into consideration—that there will be different needs in different areas of the world.”

Citro was also encouraged by the words spoken by the new pope following his election.

“I loved the way he began his first message to the people. I could hear it in the background—I can understand Italian—and he was saying, ‘Let us begin our journey of friendship, love, trust …,’” Citro said. “I think that’s a wonderful way to approach this. When you begin a journey with someone there’s a mutuality about it. So I like that kind of message; I like the fact that he asked the people to bless him before blessing them.”

Charlestown resident Mike Rowsey, a member of St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish, said he tuned into the live announcement while at work.

“I’m very excited about our new pope. He’s the first Francis, the first Jesuit and the first pope from outside of Europe—those are all exciting things,” Rowsey said.

“I had a very positive first impression of him on the balcony,” Rowsey added. “He prayed for his predecessor as his first act and then asked the people to bless him before giving his own benediction. He struck me as a very simple and gracious holy man. I would just say that those qualities about him—being simple and gracious and holy—I think they are the qualities we need in a leader to confront the challenges ahead.”

In the nearly two weeks since Pope Benedict XVI stepped down from the papacy, Catholics at St. Mary-St. Catherine’s have not had a name to say when praying for the pope during regular Masses. But all that will change Thursday morning.

“At the first Mass we say tomorrow, we’ll be praying for Pope Francis,” Citro said.