Simply put, March 13, 2013 was our day. It was a day in which the eyes of the entire world were fixated upon a tiny balcony in a tiny square in the middle of Rome. It was a day in which media outlets from all over the world had but one thing to talk about...Pope Francis. Talk of the sequester and other economical difficulties were on the back page. I couldn't tell you who won a single basketball game, and when I went into my favorite hipster coffee shop today (which probably hasn't seen a prayer in years) sitting right on the counter was the local paper with our Holy Father's face plastered right on top. March 13th was our day.
It started out like any other Wednesday. We had our team meeting in the morning, which was followed by mass and time on campus. But I remember myself being very distraught and sort of upset. About what, I could not tell you, but there was a feeling of discontent hanging over me. So, like any good missionary, I prayed about and asked Jesus to take it away. Little did I know that he was going to make this a day that will never be forgotten. March 13th was our day.
I was watching the live feed on EWTN and all of the sudden, the smoke starts pouring out of the chimney. Yes, I was watching video of a stationary chimney. But the smoke started turning white and at that moment, this became no ordinary day. We were about to have a new Papa, a new leader of our church. My own mindset and the mindsets of billions were instantly changed because the largest charitable organization in the world was about to have a new face. So, I ran over to the student center to catch the coverage on the television. And joined with about a dozen other people, we watched Pope Francis take his first steps as the new pope. March 13th was our day.
The media coverage of the event was done, in my opinion, very well. As a conservative Catholic, I am always weary of how the media, especially the liberal media, would cover an event such as this. But, I will say that I was impressed. Social media was a different story. Yeah, my news feed was filled with "Habemus Papem" and other quotes from our new pope, but there was a small sliver that wanted nothing more than to put a damper on this day. I was not going to let that happen. I have a friend, let's call him Ben, and Ben is a confirmed atheist and constantly is posting things in regard to equal marriage and "gay rights," whatever that means. And twice yesterday, he posted comments taking shots at the new Vicar of Christ. And each time, there I was commenting right back defending our faith. Most days, I leave those things alone because Facebook is certainly not the place for a theological discussion. But March 13th was not most days. March 13th was our day.
There were joyous celebrations, tears, and an all around feeling of joy throughout the Catholic world. We received our first Jesuit pope, our first Latin American pope, our first pope with the name Francis, but above all we received a holy man that will guide this church with only one thing in mind...the will of God. For some, Wednesday was just another day. The sun rose and it set. But for 1.2 billion people it was day that will always be remembered. March 13th was our day.
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