Habemus Papam, Pope Francis I!

I have already seen one tweet to our new Holy Father that referenced his name--Pope Francis I: Rebuild Our Church!  A Jesuit with a Franciscan name.  Love it!  Initially, I thought perhaps he selected the name for St. Francis Xavier, but when I heard more about Pope Francis, I recognized that the "Poor Man of Assisi" was an obvious name choice for our humble Holy Father, an Argentinian of Italian descent who lived in a simple apartment, taking public transportation, rather than riding in a limo and living in the palace that was at the Cardinal's disposal.  He chooses to live among and for the poor.  I imagine he's honoring both saints with the name choice.

The Holy Spirit prompted me to change my radio station in the car just a moment after the white smoke went up.  I heard the bells pealing at St. Peter's in Rome on the way home from the grocery store.  Generally, I wouldn't have the television on in the afternoon, but as soon as we got home, I told the children to turn on the news.  We watched for the hour after the smoke went up, waiting to meet our new Papa!  We were so excited to learn that our new pope is from the Americas.

What grace and humility Pope Francis I showed as he asked all the faithful to bless and pray for him before he gave his first blessing to all of us, the Universal Church.  

St. Francis, pray for our Holy Father as he begins his Pontificate.  Holy Spirit, guide and protect Pope Francis I as he works to evangelize Rome! Amen.