Catholic school students in Illinois Valley rejoice after American pope announcement

As soon as reports surfaced that white smoke was spotted in Vatican City, students at Marquette High School in Ottawa clustered around TV sets to see who would be the next pope.

And when the pontiff was identified as an American, Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost, senior Adrian Schaefer said there were “very audible gasps” in the classroom.

“It was very unexpected,” Schaefer said. “There definitely were some cheers because we were all excited.”

“I was very shocked and excited,” said Ava Offermann, a Marquette junior. “I thought I’d never live to see an American pope.”

The Rev. Nick Wilson said his Marquette students expressed a mixture of surprise and delight at the election of Prevost, who has taken the name Leo XIV. Although Prevost’s name had surfaced in media reports as a possible successor to Pope Francis, the odds of an American pope seemed to diminish as the conclave spilled into its second day.

“Cardinal Prevost was deemed the least American of the Americans,” Wilson said, “but it was still very unexpected.”

Applause and cheers were sent up at Catholic schools across the Illinois Valley.

“There were screams and claps of joy,” Deb Myers, principal at Trinity Catholic Academy in La Salle, said of the reaction from the gymnasium where a video screen was placed so students could see the historic event.

Grady Baker, a fourth grader at Trinity, had been following the conclave speculation and “really didn’t think [Prevost] would be it.”

“I clapped, and I was very surprised,” Grady said. “It was just so amazing that it’s the first American pope.

“I’m just so happy, and maybe sometime I might go to Rome to meet the pope.”

The white smoke was spotted while students at Peru Catholic School were at recess. Principal Rich Koehler said his teachers were able to stream the broadcast just as students came in from the playground.

“There’s a lot of bounce in people’s steps at Catholic schools today,” Koehler said. “And [for the new pope] to be a Chicago person and a Catholic schools person is just icing on the cake. We hit the bonanza.”

The cheering at Holy Family School in Oglesby was particularly pronounced because two young students happened to be named Leo.

Principal Nathan Boudreau said Leo Ptak, a kindergartner, “jumped for joy and was very excited he had the same name” as the new pontiff. In first grade, Leo Dale “said his mouth dropped and he was shocked that the pope had the same name as him.”