COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — People who gathered at the St. John Henry Newman Chapel were excited and nervous as they waited for the announcement of the new Pope.
Some say the news came across as a surprise.
"I'm nervous. Pretty nervous," said Aaron Ramos, a University of Colorado, Colorado Springs student.
Ramos says he couldn't just stay at home to hear about the announcement.
"I heard about the white smoke, so I jumped right back out of my bed," said Ramos.
As Leo XIV was elected as the first American Pope, Ramos says it was unexpected news.
"This is going to be the first pope that I'm going to grow up with," said Ramos. "He's American. He seems multilingual. I think he's going to be very universal."
Rev. James Williams says he's very excited about the new pope.
"It's going to be very easy to communicate with him," said Rev. James Williams. "Now, we have the younger pope. There might be more expectations of him doing more traveling."
Williams says the pope's message, delivered in Spanish and Italian, stood out most because it highlighted the importance of unity and peace.
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