“I have the CNN app on my phone and it sends me notifications about big events like this, so I heard about it all day,” DiBartolomeo said, adding she is looking forward to seeing what the new pope does in his role. “I do trust Pope Francis to do his job. He comes from a new culture and different part of the world, so he will bring a different perspective and open a lot of people’s eyes.”

Rev. Mark Inglot, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and St. John Church and Student Center, 955 Alton St., said the 76-year-old Argentinian of Italian descent was chosen to be Pope Benedict XVI’s successor to show the church is no longer European but universal and more inclusive.

Chris Frilingos, religious studies professor on early Christianity and Roman culture, said the process for picking the new pope is not difficult to understand.

“The idea is that there are 115 cardinals eligible to vote, and if a person gets two-thirds majority vote, that person becomes pope,” Frilingos said.

Pope Francis is starting to be considered the pope of firsts — first Jesuit, first to use the name Francis, first pope from South America and the first to not speak from a script when he addressed Rome and the world.

Inglot said Pope Francis seems like a simple man, and this is a choice Inglot is grateful for.
“He seems very down to earth and prayerful,” Inglot said. “You can tell he lives a simple life because he wore white and took his stole off.”

Inglot also said having the pope ask for the people to bless him first before he blessed them was shocking, which shows there is going to be change in the church.

“When he asked the people to bless him before he blessed them, that was monumental,” Inglot said. “He is from the outside of where popes usually come from and outside of the mainstream structure, which is a positive sign for positive change.”

“For people of the younger generation, this is our third pope and the second conclave, which is incredible,” Diller said. “Young people are going to remember this and its details.”