Bay Area Catholics react to election of first American pope

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Catholics around the nation, and right here in the Bay Area, are reacting to the news of the first American pope.   

The news of the new pope was met with the ringing of the bells at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose and at Catholic churches around the world. 

Throughout the day, as news of the new pope spread, many stopped by to offer their prayers.

Dimitri Conom was at work in a nearby office building when he heard the cathedral bells ringing and knew exactly what it meant. 

"I never thought we would see an American Pope," Conom said.  

Conom said he does believe that Pope Leo XIV will carry on the legacy of Pope Francis with a focus on the poor and those in what the former pope called the "marginalized" sectors of society. 

"The way we treat the poorest, the fringes, is how we want to be treated. And I really think Francis put a lot of time putting cardinals in that agreed with him," Conom said. 

Bishop Oscar Cantu of the San Jose Diocese said while the new Pope may be an American, his decades of experience as a missionary in South America, and a bishop in Peru, will position him as an international pope. 

Cantu also says the election clearly reflects the values of the cardinals.  

"They are concerned about social issues in the world, they are concerned about unity, they are concerned about building bridges," Cantu said. 

Father James Diaz is from Peru and came as a missionary, now serving as a priest in the San Jose diocese.  He worked with the then bishop – and now pope – in Peru. 

"A good pastor, he is very near to the people, near to the priests. He is an excellent person," Diaz said. 

A tour group from the Sacred Heart Nativity School happened to be in the cathedral as the new pope was revealed, an experience they will never forget. 

"They came in, they made the announcement, we said a prayer for them," said Ernest Alnas, one of the chaperones of the eighth grade students on the tour. 

Across the board, parishioners were trying to process the idea of an American pope. 

"Yes I am really excited. I never thought it would be us because we are kind of the ‘red-headed stepchildren’ of the Catholic world," Conom said.