ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The announcement of a new pope Thursday swept through downtown St. Augustine, a city founded on the Catholic faith. 

The revelation that he hails from America astonished locals of the city recognized as the oldest continuously inhabited by Europeans within the present-day United States.

The Cathedral Basilica in Downtown St. Augustine is the first and oldest Catholic parish or congregation in the county. 

In the shadow of the Cathedral Basilica, Francisco Averos makes and sells jewelry on a small table.

He is one of many who heard the cathedral bells ring for several minutes Thursday afternoon ringing in the news of a new pope, Robert Prevost.

Having adopted the name Pope Leo XIV, he originally comes from Chicago and has spent time in Peru working as a missionary. The town’s residents were both excited and surprised by the inauguration of the first American pope.

“I’m stunned,” Sister Stephanie Flynn said. “He’s an American and a South American is the same time, he represents half the world is wonderful.”

Similar to the pope’s famous popemobile, the Sisters of St. Joseph have their own unique mode of transportation. They travel around in an extended golf cart humorously labeled “Holy Rollers.”

The Sisters approached the cathedral, smiling and saying, “Viva Papa!”

Sister Kathleen Carr said, “As Sisters of St. Joseph and as Religious, we’re very happy to hear he is an Augustinian Religious.”

It’s amazing to be in St Augustine in front of the great Catholic Cathedral on the night that Pope Leo is at the 14th has been inaugurated as the next pope.

Frank Castillo is the Chief Financial Officer for the St. Joseph Neighborhood Center in St. Augustine. He said, “What an amazing thing to have a Pope that is an American, who represents a portion of Latin America, and who will continue in the footsteps of what Pope Francis has started.”

Marmara Cadet, associated with the Sisters of St. Joseph, smiled from ear to ear as she jumped in her seat. She said, “We are really overjoyed, because we see the work of the Holy Spirit!”

About an hour after the new pope was named, a poster was pinned to the door of the Cathedral Basilica, welcoming the new Pope, stating “The first American Pope. May 8, 2025.”

Thrilled and hopeful, Catholics and non-Catholics alike hope this Pope Leo XIV will lead with love and humility, caring for the small, the poor, and those who are living day-to-day, like Averos the jewelry seller.

He beamed, “When people are happy, there is positivity in this world.”

Another man, David Edson spoke with First Coast News and says he is hopeful too.

“I hope he takes that servanthood, which we’ve been so lacking, we’ve lacked humility, and we want to bring that into our daily lives and serve one another,” Edson said.