蜜芽传媒

Yesterday, the Catholic Church elected a new pope: Leo XIV. I was in St Peter鈥檚 Square for the historic event, which is just around the corner from where I鈥檓 speaking now.

I was also in floods of tears. Why? I鈥檒l explain.

I鈥檓 a catholic. I鈥檓 a convert. I also have a weak bladder.

After several hours waiting for white smoke in the Square, to indicate the cardinals had chosen a winner, I decided to go into the Basilica. To be honest, I needed to use the loos.

But it turned out to be providential. I attended Mass. I knelt by the tomb of John Paul II and prayed that we鈥檇 get a good pope - soon.

It was almost exactly when I stepped back outside, just after 6pm, that white smoke began billowing out of the chimney.

The crowd went wild.

Catholics love their pope. That doesn鈥檛 mean there aren鈥檛 difficult personalities in the office or serious mistakes made.

But we remain one big family, something that really hits home when you鈥檙e surrounded by thousands of believers from across the planet. The pope is this messy family鈥檚 holy father.

Being in Rome always reminds me of the texture of my faith, its sights and sounds, and its history.

That鈥檚 why we were stunned when we heard the new pope was Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. An American! We鈥檝e never had one of those before. A missionary to Peru, then an archbishop.

And then I heard the name he鈥檇 chosen: Leo XIV.

Papal names are picked for their significance; think of it like naming a baby after your beloved grandfather. And Leo XIII was one of my favourite popes of all.

In 1891, he published 鈥淩erum Novaraum鈥�, meaning 鈥渙f new things鈥�, a document that condemned injustice and put the Church firmly on the side of the poor.

We heard talk during this conclave of a tension in the church between clarity vs charity: between whether the next pope should defend ancient teachings or emphasise helping others.

But I don鈥檛 believe there鈥檚 any contradiction. Jesus taught us to love God and to love human beings, and this alliance of faith and social action is what being part of any church is all about.

Some watching at home might have found the ceremony antiquated and odd. But religious people, like all people, are simply trying to work out the best way to live and to live it - and one rarely makes that journey alone. I鈥檝e found myself immersed in other people, in their values and kindness.

I converted to catholicism twenty years ago, and to this day I can鈥檛 quite explain why. But being in St Peter鈥檚 Square, I felt I鈥檇 come home.

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