MISSOULA — Smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning, signaling that a new pope had been elected to lead the Catholic Church.
The celebration of Pope Leo XIV did not just happen in Italy, as Missoula's Catholic community reacted with excitement to the news.
"I can't imagine having to step onto that type of stage as the leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics around the world," Father Craig Hightower, SJ of St. Francis Xavier Parish told MTN. "It's just an incredibly humbling thing to stand like that."
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The election of a new pope marks a new chapter in the Catholic Church's history, and for Father Hightower, it's foreshadowed by the name the new pontiff chose.
"Most popes, if they take a name of another pope, it's usually that they want to continue on that Pope's legacy," he said.
He added that Pope Leo XIII was focused on human dignity and worker rights. Father Hightower believes Leo XIV will continue that advocacy.
"There was a lot of conversation about whether it was going to revert back to Benedict XVI, and maybe St. John Paul II, or was he going to continue on Pope Francis' direction?" Father Hightower explained. "And it sounds like it's going to be middle of the road between Pope Francis and Benedict XVI."
Father Hightower says, regardless of people's theological views, he believes the new pope will be accepted by the people.
"Just like they prayed for St. John Paul II, and for Benedict XVI, and for Pope Francis, they're going to pray for Pope Leo," he said. "You know, like Christians around the world, we pray for Pope Leo and pray for his leadership and guidance and the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit. If we do that, we're going to be successful."
