Between class periods at Turlock’s Sacred Heart School on Thursday, the news that white smoke could be seen coming from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel sent shockwaves through the hallways.

Moments later, principal Sarah Michelena’s voice came over the school’s intercom system.

“I have an announcement,” Michelena started. “White smoke has been seen, and we have a new pope.”

It was not yet known that Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost had been chosen to become the Catholic Church’s 267th pontiff — let alone the first U.S. citizen to be elevated to the post in the church’s 2,000-year history — and the students scurried to their classrooms to watch the happenings unfold on live television.

“It was pretty exciting because we got to watch it in class,” said 14-year-old eighth-grader Sofia Magni. “We stayed in during our brunch time to see how long it would take the new pope to come out on the balcony.”

Though Magni was too young to remember the conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013, she was fully aware this time that a pope from the U.S. was a long shot.

“I was pretty shocked because our teachers had convinced us that it wasn’t going to be an American,” said Magni. “They told us it was probably going to be an Italian.”

Pope Leo XIV is now the fourth consecutive non-Italian to be named the Bishop of Rome. Not since Pope John Paul I has it been an Italian.

“How encouraging it is to see young kids excited about the faith,” said SHS eighth-grade teacher Joe Michelena “We had a little conclave of our own in class to experience how hard it is for somebody to get two-thirds of the vote. I told the kids they could vote for just one person to be the ‘pope’ of the class, and one student got about 50 percent of the vote. They understand now that it takes a special person for two-thirds of the cardinals to pick him.”

Sacred Heart kindergarten teacher Anissa Crivelli took the opportunity to teach her students about the conclave, even though they wouldn’t grasp the concepts as firmly as the older students.

“They’re just starting their understanding of Jesus being a friend and somebody that they can talk to,” said Crivelli. “And the pope is that step toward Jesus, because he’s leading the church.

“We’ve been talking about the death of Pope Francis and the lead-in to how we pick a new pope. And we got to watch the livestream and see the smoke and they thought that was the coolest thing.”

Rev. Patrick Walker, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, was just as surprised as the SHS students that a U.S.-born citizen would be named the Vicar of Christ.

“I’m 71, and I did not think I would see it happen in my lifetime,” said Walker. “It’s very important to realize that he has dual citizenship, in the U.S. and Peru, so he has a world view and not just a view for the U.S.

“But it’s a wonderful thing that an American has been chosen and we’re very happy about this.”

According to a recent survey in Crisis Magazine, 19 percent of Americans self-identify as Catholics, down from 24 percent from 2007 — a 20 percent decrease. Of those 19 percent, which represents just over 50 million adults, less than a third attend Mass weekly (though attendance did improve slightly between 2023 and 2024, according to a Gallup survey).

These statistics aren’t lost on Rev. Larry Machado, pastor at Turlock’s Our Lady of the Assumption. He’s hopeful that a U.S.-born pontiff can help stem the tide.

“He happens to be the first pope from the United States, and that gives us a sense that Catholics in the United States are just as much a part of the Catholic Church as anywhere else in the world,” said Machado, who believes his citizenship was a secondary consideration to the College of Cardinals.

“He became pope, I think, because of the varied experiences he’s had over the course of his life,” said Machado. “He grew up in the United States, but he also spent a lot of time in Peru, where he was a missionary, and then eventually became the bishop of the diocese there. He spent a lot of time in Rome; he studied canon law at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas. More recently he’s been working as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. He was also the prior general of the religious order to which he belonged — the Augustinians. That’s also a very global position because he’s in charge of all the Augustinians in the entire world. So, he happens to be an American, but his whole priesthood has been very much a global kind of experience and that’s what made him a strong candidate for the papacy.”

But it’s the pope’s Americanism — Prevost grew rooting for the Chicago White Sox — that makes him relatable to many Catholics in the U.S. 

“Americans can be loud and obnoxious at times, and we’re probably misunderstood, but we are what we are, for better or worse,” said Rev. Tom Orlando, pastor at All Saints Catholic Church in Turlock. “The American experience is a unique experience, and I think he gets us.

“Definitely, we always need good leadership. Good leadership gets people excited. I think it’ll be good for the American church.”