“That seemed awfully quick.”
It was the first comment I saw on social media when the white smoke started billowing from the Vatican chimney.
As far as I was concerned, it hadn’t been quick at all. It had been 17 long days of waiting. Seventeen days marked with uncertainty. Seventeen days as an orphan.
It may sound strange to non-Catholics, but for this Catholic, those days were filled with a loneliness—a lack of direction or a life anchor in some ways. I missed the security of having a Holy Father.
To be fair, I didn’t always agree with Pope Francis, may he rest in peace. But there were things I admired. His simplicity and humility. His caring for the lowliest and the poorest. His worn black shoes.
Moreover though, I missed him as the head of the Roman Catholic Church and Successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus handed the keys to the Kingdom.
In those 17 days after his death, the keys were unclaimed, and in my mind, I was a ship without a rudder.
Needless to say, as the white smoke poured into the air, I was filled with a mixture of gratitude and praise, elation and relief. And yes, a few tears.
Because on the afternoon of May 8, God’s faithfulness was on display in a most magnificent way. On May 8, God spoke. He told us in no uncertain terms we had not been abandoned. He was with us. He’s always with us. And just as He promised, the keys of the Kingdom had been passed on and the See of Peter was once again occupied.
In those moments as the world rejoiced, we were all reminded that we serve a faithful God—a mighty and everlasting God who was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Glory to God for His never-ending graces and mercies. And long live Pope Leo XIV.
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