Michelle Samartino | The Michigan Catholic

ROME — Deacon Jim Grau, a fourth-year seminarian from Detroit, heard someone yell, “White! White!”

“We looked up, and sure enough, it was,” said Deacon Grau of St. Michael the Archangel in Livonia, and who is currently studying at the North American College in Rome.

The black smoke had turned white, and an electric current of excitement ran through the crowd, although it would not be for another hour until the new pope would walk out of the doors on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

During that time, Deacon Grau prayed a rosary for the new pope, whomever it was to be, and began striking up conversations with those around him, he said. “The square filled up pretty fast.”

When then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was in sight, “everyone was just looking at each other, confused,” Deacon Grau said.

“There were a half-dozen Latin American seminarians about 10 feet behind us, and after a moment’s pause — they probably couldn’t believe their ears — they all shouted ‘Bergoglio!’ simultaneously and started going nuts.

“So we milked the information out of them, that it was someone named ‘Vergano’ and that he was from Argentina,” he continued. “And we missed the name he chose because of the chaos. Some people were saying Gregory and then others started saying Francis.

“All of this happened very quickly, but it seemed like an eternity,” he said.

Among the tears and the joy of those around him, Deacon Grau said, “The most memorable moment for me was when the cardinals all came out at that point and looked down over the square. Everyone was pretty convinced that it was going to be Cardinal (Angelo) Scola, and now we had this new Argentinean pope. It was almost like the cardinals were asking us, ‘Well, what do you think of that?’”

The crowd responded in kind: “They got a huge applause for the great surprise they gave us,” Deacon Grau said.

After a marching band finished playing Charles Gounod’s Pontifical March, Pope Francis was about to say his first words to the crowd. “He started speaking, very causally, waving his hands around and making small jokes, (and) everyone got very excited,” Deacon Grau said.

“And when he asked for a moment of prayer, it was really, really quiet … that was a lot of people to be that quiet.”

The eventful day was also just as memorable for fellow Detroit seminarian Bryan Shackett, a third-year theology student also studying at the North American College.

“I was in the front half of St. Peter’s Square when I heard the news about the election of Pope Francis,” he said.

“We had gone down to the square to see the smoke and when it turned out to be white and the bells of St. Peter’s started to ring, we all moved forward,” said Shackett, who hails from Our Lady on the River Parish in Marine City. “When we heard the official word that Pope Francis had been elected, I, along with everybody else in the square, rang out in joy.”

It was an emotional time for nearly everyone in the crowd. Shackett was extremely thankful for that moment: “I was very grateful to Our Lord for raising another shepherd for us, to lead us to Him.”

The reaction of others was truly positive. “The best way I can describe the atmosphere in St. Peter’s Square that night was pure joy. We were all happy, prayerful, and excited to welcome our new pope and to receive his blessing. It was amazing to experience and I will carry those moments with me for the rest of my life.”

He said he has high hopes for the new pope, but believes Pope Francis is up for the challenge, knowing he is following in the footsteps of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. “The pope has always been a teacher and a guide to Jesus Christ and I know that Pope Francis will continue that work,” he said.

“I know that he will continue the work of the new evangelization, which really began under Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, of teaching Christ crucified to the world. It is also clear to me that he will show us how to love Our Lord and live our Christian lives in true humility and simplicity.”

By the pope choosing the name of Francis, it speaks volumes to the rest of the world: “I think that his name choice is very fitting,” said Shackett. “Pope Francis is a truly humble man who is devoted to Our Lord. He is devoted to living out the Gospel message in simplicity and to preaching that same Gospel by every action of every day.
“Taking the name of Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, fits not only his life, but also how he will lead us to Christ,” Shackett said.

David Tomaszycki, a first-year theology student from Immaculate Conception Parish in Ira Township, is also studying at the North American College. He could not be reached for comment.