habemus papam!

there will be certain events in my life which I will carry in my soul for all eternity. one such moment happened april 19, 2005 at exactly 11:50 pm in my cellphone time...

I tuned in to fox news channel like I always do to get an update on what was happening on the papal conclave in the vatican for the election of the new pope. commentaries as usual were being discussed but suddenly and almost an hour earlier than expected, smoke belched out from the chimney...

all the news channels including our local channels were covering the event live and everyone was in a state of sheer excitement. of course no one knew yet if the smoke was black or white (black meaning an inconclusive vote, white meaning a new pope has been elected. 6 hours before this time I witnessed black smoke so I eagerly awaited the outcome.

at first no one wanted to jump the gun and tell if the smoke was white..some stations in the vatican in fact said that the smoke was black which made the journalists visibly disapointed at first. but I saw white smoke..i felt it..this was it..the roman catholic church - the single-most important organization in the whole world, God's personal connection to this world to which he entrusted the keys to heaven - is finally getting a new leader after pope john paul IIs passing.

chills went down my spine as the tens of thousands gathered in st. peter square burst out into a beautiful array of joy and excitement. the bells of st. peter were not yet ringing so we did not know for sure if indeed a new pope has been elected. adding to the confusion, the bells will ring at the top of the hour like it always do and it did. but 4 minutes after the scheduled ringing, the bells sounded again and my emotions swept me again as it did during the passing of the previous pope. tears once again - tears which I rarely shed even when i am personally conquered with grief and despair, but such historic events can sway even a matured and hardened man as i am to sweet tears. not many here in the Phils probably witnessed this event. yet im so lucky because I witnesed both the end and the beginning of a papal transition.

sure enough, a cardinal appeared on the window balcony of st. peter's basilica and announced to the whole world that he brings great joy. habemus papam! we have a pope!

unlike many, i didnt like to speculate on who the next pope will be because I believe that the choice of the cardinals in the conclave will be guided by the power of the holy spirit. I knew the next pope will continue on the traditions of the roman catholic church which has stood the test of time and war for 2000 years. the next pope, i believed, would follow on the footsteps of pope john paul II in preserving catholic values and principles which God wishes to be preserved.

and a conservative pope was indeed what we had..cardinal joseph ratzinger of germany, one of pope john paul II's closest aides who have served him as prefect of the church doctrine for over 23 years. the "enforcer" some have dubbed him. now the world will come to know him as pope benedict XVI. and the world will love him as the world loved the previous pontiff.

catholics rejoice for religion will breath new life into our troubled world. I hope these events will strike at the hearts of the troubled youth who have distanced themselves from the teachings of Christ, teachings which the catholic church seeks to preserve for all eternity. help me in this struggle. do not be afraid.