The buzz of anticipation crackled inside the hallways and classrooms at Roncalli High School.

As the College of Cardinals gathered in Italy starting on May 7 to choose the next pope, students and staff kept a close eye on the stream of news coming out of Vatican City. Paying attention to the lessons at hand was next to impossible.

When white smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, hope reached its peak. And as Pope Leo XIV— the first American pope ever — emerged to the crowd assembled at St. Peter’s Square, jubilation erupted.

“The atmosphere was so electric in the building,” said Lily Bauman, a senior at Roncalli. “I know my class was screaming and so excited. It happened over the course of a couple of different class periods here, between the smoke and then him stepping

See Full Page