By Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor, Theology
October 30, 2025
Teaching in Rome is always a privilege, but never more so than during the epochal events we recently experienced with the passing of Pope Francis and the papal conclave that gave us Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope!
Pope Francis faced his final illness, hospitalization, and death with the spirit of faith and submission to God’s will that characterized his entire pontificate. For my students, Francis was the pope of their teen years and early adulthood and they will miss him very much. At the same time, the enthusiasm of having a pontiff from the United States is contagious and brings the reality of the papacy right to our doorstep.
For me personally, this period was very moving. Several US news outlets contacted me and asked me to help with their television coverage of the events, so I had a front-row seat—perched on a rooftop above Saint Peter’s Square—for Francis’s funeral, the papal conclave, and the first public appearances of Pope Leo.
I was on air when the white smoke billowed forth from the special chimney above the Sistine Chapel and heard the announcement that the cardinals had elected Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Using the age-old Latin formula, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti stepped out on the balcony and declared: “Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!” which means, “I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope!”
Cardinal Prevost’s choice of the name Leo XIV was especially meaningful for my students and me since we devote time to studying his namesake Pope Leo XIII, author of the important papal encyclical Rerum Novarum, known as the Magna Carta of Catholic Social Teaching.
Since then, it has become clear that Pope Leo wishes to be a pope of unity and peace, an ambition sorely needed in our divided world. Catholics of every stripe and cultural leaning have embraced the new pontiff with enthusiasm, which suggests that his work of unification is already underway.