New Yorkers drop everything to celebrate first-ever American pope at St. Patricks Cathedral: I couldnt be happier

There was no Catholic guilt about ditching work to say a prayer for Pope Leo.Faithfull New Yorkers dropped everything Thursday and rushed to St.Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate the first American pope.Some ran out of their offices, dropped business meetings or jumped into their cars in the middle of the day to join dozens congregated at the iconic Manhattan church.“I was shouting in the office, everybody was looking at me,” said Lauren Smith, 25, an accountant who was eating lunch when she spotted white smoke bursting out of the Vatican’s chimney on a live stream, indicating that the conclave had ended less than two days after it kicked off.

“I was so excited to see who the new pope was going to be.We knew we had to come here,” she said from the Midtown cathedral.Cardinal Robert Frances Prevost, who was born in Chicago and attended Villanova University, was elected to lead the Catholic Church under the new name Pope Leo XIV.“I work 10 minutes away, so the minute we saw that white smoke was coming through the chimney at the Vatican, we ran over from the office,” said Jackie Johnson, 27, an accountant from Brooklyn.“It makes me feel more connected to the Vatican,” she said of having an American pontiff, adding she hoped that the newly elected religious figure would inspire young people to turn toward religion.“I hope he treats the role well and I hope God watches over him and all the things that he does,” she said, noting she hopes he will continue following the progressive groundwork that Pope Francis left behind.“I hope he brings the Catholic Church back to young people.

I know that going to Mass on Sundays, not a lot of young people my age do it, so I hope he encourages more younger people to get involved with the church as well.”Brian Kerwin, a wealth manager from New Jersey, was driving into the city to attend a meeting that he ended up ditching when his girlfriend shared the good news.“My first reaction was to come here to pray, ...