ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) — A family from Michigan had front-row access to history as white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, announcing the election of the first American pope.
Watch the report below:
Gerarda Tobin and her husband Brian Joseph, both of St. Clair Shores, were standing in the middle of St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City as the Catholic Church introduced its new leader: Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old from the South Side of Chicago.
“The lines were around the block,” Tobin said. “It was almost like everybody knew it was going to be white smoke.”
Watch our full interview with Gerarda Tobin and Brian Joseph in the video player below:
Moments later, the crowd erupted.
“When the white smoke came and the bells rang, the crowd exploded. It was amazing,” she recalled.
Joseph also felt the emotions.
“Literally exploded. I felt euphoric. I just felt this feeling come down thinking wow, America,” he said.
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The announcement stunned the crowd.
“When they announced his name, I think the crowd was stunned. I think the world was stunned,” Tobin said. “You could hear people murmur ‘Americano? Americano?’”
Tobin said she never thought she’d live to see an American pope.
“I never thought in my lifetime. I really never thought in my lifetime,” she said.
The two were also in Rome to support their brother and brother-in-law, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the Detroit native currently serving as Archbishop of Newark. Joseph Tobin participated in the conclave that elected the new pope.
Gerarda Tobin said the experience opened her eyes to the global unity of the Catholic Church.
“People of all ages, of all demographics were just joyful and cheering,” she said. “When they announced his name, they were cheering ‘Leo.’”
Watch when we spoke to family when Cardinal Joseph Tobin entered the conclave below:
Reflecting on the day, she added “We were part of a historic moment, and we’re just so grateful we were able to be a part of it, a very small part of it.”
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