East Tennesseans react to first U.S.-born pope

‘The Catholic Church in America is having a moment’

By Gabrielle Nolan

Catholics around the world rejoiced and celebrated when white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney on May 8, signifying the newest pontiff for the universal Church had been chosen.

Because of the influx of news and media outlets in society, within minutes people from every nation were reading and watching to learn more about Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.

Catholics in East Tennessee were no different, with eyes glued to the television to watch the first papal audience or scanning a quickly updated Wikipedia page to learn facts and figures about the first North American-born pope.

The East Tennessee Catholic interviewed some of the local faithful to learn about their reactions to and hopes for the 267th pope of the Catholic Church.

Father Danny Herman, an associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, was enjoying his day off at a restaurant in Chattanooga when the news station on TV showed white smoke at the Vatican.

Father Herman said he was “startled” when he learned that the selected pope was an American.

“In fact, the day before, I had gone into the fifth-grade classroom and they’d always ask me, ‘Father Danny, is the American going to be pope?’ And I said, ‘We’re going to be dead before there’s an American pope.’ And so, the next day when I preached my homily, I let them know that I’m still around,” he shared.

“I was very happy, a little confused, and a little intrigued to know why because there’s a reason why there hasn’t been an American pope in the last 250 years,” he continued. “And I wanted to learn more about him, and I’m glad that I did because it sparked a great interest in his life and seeing that he has lived a life full of mission but also a life that is devoted to truth.”

Regarding the Catholic Church in the United States, Father Herman thinks that the new pope will be “able to give a little bit more insight to see how the Catholic life in the new world but also in the northern hemisphere fluctuates.”

“Because Pope Leo XIV is from southside Chicago, he has a great insight into poverty but also towards reaching to those who are spiritually poor in great wealth,” he said.

Lastly, Father Herman spoke about his greatest hope for Pope Leo XIV.

“I hope that Pope Leo XIV does what he says and makes a bridge between heaven and earth, where his priority is to bring more souls to heaven—to see more people baptized, to see more people embracing the truth of the faith, and loving our Lord more intimately and more dearly,” he commented.

Kate Walsh, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Cathedral, works at a pediatric office in Maryville. She was preparing for her lunch break when her family alerted her that there was white smoke at the Vatican.

“I was telling everybody, ‘There’s a pope! There’s a new pope!’ My coworkers, none of them are Catholic, but they were very into it. They were like, ‘Who is it? When are we going to know?’ … So, it timed out so nicely that I got onto my lunch break, and I got to watch the entire thing. It was really exciting, and hearing that it was an American, I was totally blown away like I’m sure everybody was,” she shared.

Since her coworkers did not understand the hype of having an American pope, Ms. Walsh explained that this had never happened before.

“Honestly, my mind was blown,” she said. “I read a lot of things, like, oh, people don’t think it will be an American because we already have a lot of weight.”

Ms. Walsh shared that she would love to see “a lot of outreach for pro-life” initiatives with this pontificate.

“I think just a lot of reaching out towards women who are having a child and don’t know where to go if they don’t have help,” she said.

“I really just hope to see the Church continue to try to always do what God is calling it to do,” Ms. Walsh said.

Stan Hunter, an engineer who is a parishioner of Immaculate Conception in Knoxville, was also at work when he heard the news about the pope’s election.

“It’s funny, my boss is not Catholic, but she and her husband were really following it closely, and we were in a group text texting about the pope. … It was a fun little day at work,” he said.

Mr. Hunter said he was “pretty shocked” to hear that the pope was American “because I know a lot of people thought it was going to be an Italian pope because he was picked so quickly.”

“I kind of feel like the Catholic Church in America is having a moment, and I think this is part of it,” he continued. “I think it’s going to keep building momentum and hopefully people like my boss who aren’t Catholic are really interested in the process, and I’m hoping it can grow the Church in America.”

Mr. Hunter hopes that this pontificate will be similar to Pope Francis’ in terms of focusing on the poor.

“People say [Pope Leo XIV] may be a unifying figure. I feel like the Church isn’t as divided as the media is trying to portray, but I hope he can be that kind of a figure,” he commented.

Claire Collins is a freelance writer who is a parishioner at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga. Her family set up the live feed from the Vatican on their projector in the basement for a watch party.

“The kids and I watched with joyful expectation,” she said. “My sons were running around shouting, ‘This is so cool! We have a pope!’ When [the officials] said his name, I kept screaming out in disbelief because I had always heard that we would never have an American pope. I guess it’s true that with God, all things are possible.”

Mrs. Collins had been reading the children’s book titled We Have A Pope with her family to prepare for the conclave.

“It was really cool to watch the boys recognize things like the brass band, the cardinals, St. Peter’s Square, and the phrase Habemus Papam from having read the book together,” she shared. “It was especially cool to be able to watch it all together and answer the questions the kids had. To talk about the tears in our Holy Father’s eyes as he looked into the crowd on the balcony. To see the vast array of national flags represented in the square. To see the men and women faithful, priests and religious, praying and crying together as they received the news. It really touched deeply the reality of our one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.”

Mrs. Collins previously spent time with the Missionaries of Charity, noting that she realized “that I had never truly experienced what it meant to love the poor.”

“It sounds like our new Holy Father has spent so much time with the poor, and he knows the very faces that Jesus looks upon with such love and tenderness—faces it is easy to forget in the United States,” she commented. “Mother Teresa said that those in the West have the true poverty, a spiritual one. I hope that the example of the recent popes will bring to light the poverty we are living in and will inspire us to love the least, not just the economic poor, but also those souls who experience the spiritual, communal, and emotional poverties of our time.”

Mrs. Collins has been struck by Pope Leo XIV’s humility, even connecting it with a local church figure.

“His demeanor reminds me of our new bishop, Bishop Beckman, who a friend reminded me likely became a bishop with the influence of the new pope in his prior role. Both seem to be vessels for God, emptying themselves so as to make room for God to work. This is a beautiful model of the Christian life, as we are all called to become, in a sense, nothing, so that we might be filled with God,” she said.

Blanca Primm, the director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Knoxville, is a native of Peru, where Pope Leo XIV served as a missionary priest and then bishop.

Mrs. Primm was on a Zoom call at work when a coworker told her there was white smoke to announce a new pope had been elected. Chancery workers gathered together in a conference room to watch the events unfold via livestream.

“It was great to be with Bishop Mark Beckman and the Chancery staff to experience this historic time,” she said. “Some were looking at an online poll with four leading candidates. I didn’t want to guess any names; I wanted to be surprised by the Holy Spirit!”

At that point, Mrs. Primm was unfamiliar with Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost and that he had served in Peru for more than 20 years.

“I must say, it warms my heart and moves me to think about the connection that I feel with the pope,” she remarked. “My parish in Lima, St. Monica, was an Augustinian parish. I received my sacraments of initiation there, and the pastor, Spanish-born missionary priest Father Miguel Diez Medina, was crucial in my spiritual growth and involvement in the parish. When I was 11 years old, he invited me to join a youth group that was being formed with Augustinian spirituality. There I learned about small groups and the importance of building a Christian community of friends where Christ’s love is the center and then sharing that love in the world.”

Mrs. Primm noted that she has been watching many videos about the new pope, and while Bishop Prevost was in Chiclayo, Peru, he was “so respected and loved.”

“He became one with the people,” she said. “He loved Peruvian food (which is among the best in the world). He often visited far-away, small towns, talked to the people, found out their material and spiritual needs. He welcomed and helped immigrants to Peru, most recently those coming from Venezuela. Peru has over 1 million Venezuelan immigrants. During the COVID pandemic he was able to get oxygen supplies for so many people who without his help would have died. During the El Niño flooding in 2017, he accompanied those impacted by the natural disaster and raised funds to help them. He completely integrated himself in the community.”

With his extensive experience in Peru and other countries, Mrs. Primm believes this will “allow the Holy Father to understand how to reach out to all the different groups within the universal Church.”

“To keep in mind that no one should be excluded from the integration process within the Church, that this is not just for a small group, but for everyone. God is for everyone,” she said.

Mrs. Primm believes that Pope Leo XIV is the “pope that the universal Church needs at this time.”

“He is from the United States, and he is humble, a bridge-builder and a seeker of peace and communion among people,” she said. “He reflects what he preaches. Being a living witness of Christ’s love on earth is what we need. He’s the Vicar of Christ on earth who the Holy Spirit has sent us. He’s a child of immigrants and an immigrant to Peru. He’s a missionary who can teach us by example. I have some friends in Chiclayo who can’t stop describing him as a humble and compassionate pastor who ‘smells like the sheep’ in the words of Pope Francis, who is always available to the people.”

With the start of the new pontificate, Mrs. Primm has certain hopes for the American Catholic Church and for the pope.

“I hope that we as Catholics in the USA can become more unified with each other and that we feel more strongly united with the universal Church. I also see the importance of becoming more missionary and aware that we need to expand our love to others like Jesus did,” she said.

“I hope Pope Leo XIV will follow in the steps of Pope Francis in continuing to build a Church that welcomes everyone and doesn’t forget the needy,” she continued. “A pontiff who can be a sign of unity within the Church and among the nations who can lead the Church toward communion and peace through listening and dialogue, and especially a Church that is missionary and centered in Jesus Christ.”

Fernando Sanchez, who leads the pre-catechumenate program at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, was watching coverage of the conclave on EWTN when the white smoke first appeared. And when Habemus Papam! was announced in Latin and he heard the word Prevost, “I knew exactly who the new pope was and where he was from.”

Mr. Sanchez confided that as the conclave began, he made a bet with a priest friend about who the leading contenders for the papacy were. And while Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was not one of his top picks, he was a leading contender tapped by his priest friend.

“So, now I owe him a beer. I was genuinely surprised when Cardinal [Dominique] Mamberti said his name. But I knew that he was an American, that he had spent a lot of time doing missionary work in South America, and that Pope Francis—God rest his soul—had made him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops,” Mr. Sanchez said.

“My initial impression of Pope Leo XIV is very positive. I think his papacy will be one of bringing us ‘back to basics.’ In the homily he delivered to the College of Cardinals at his first papal Mass in the Sistine Chapel the day after his election, Pope Leo spoke about the necessity of being absolutely committed to Jesus Christ. By singing his first papal Mass in Latin and using Benedict XVI’s ferula, Pope Leo revealed his humility and continuity with the past, something he hinted at when he first appeared on the loggia of St. Peter’s after his election wearing the traditional red papal mozzetta and stole,” Mr. Sanchez pointed out.

The basilica lay minister hopes Pope Leo XIV can emphasize the importance of both progressive and conservative Catholic tenets in the U.S. Church and thus be a bridge-builder by stressing doctrinal clarity.

“By highlighting the importance of both sides like Pope Leo XIII did, I hope that Pope Leo XIV can help heal the sad divisions present in the American Church. I hope Pope Leo will show us how to stand up for the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized—including migrants and refugees—while remaining faithful to the Church’s magisterium,” he said.

Susan Collins of Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville was working when the papal announcement was made, so she accessed the Associated Press on her computer and was able to watch the white smoke emerge from the Sistine Chapel.

“I was very surprised yet proud to hear about the first U.S. pope,” Mrs. Collins said. “It was so exciting that I stayed glued to the report as they showed St. Peter’s Basilica with rays of sunshine peeking over the top of the building. Absolutely beautiful! Then the cardinals stepped out on the side balconies as the announcement was made. The Holy Father stepped out on the balcony wearing the vestments he had chosen, and that was a true moment in history.”

And then later on May 8, the Notre Dame community was able to share in the excitement with Bishop Mark Beckman, who was celebrating evening Mass at Notre Dame to confer the sacrament of confirmation to 19 young people “who will remember that day for a long time.”

Mrs. Collins joins with many North American Catholics who thought they would never see a U.S.-born pope and are cheering for Pope Leo XIV.

“I think Americans have taken pride in having a pope that was born in the USA and that they will join many in prayer for the Holy Father to be guided by the Holy Spirit during his papacy,” she shared.