VATICAN CITY (WLS) — St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican grounds are bustling with a mix of Catholics and tourists eager to experience the church under its historic new American leadership.
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For Chicagoans, the centuries-old space is now even more sacred.
“I’m exhausted, but deeply moved,” expressed Kelley Kolar-Hellman from North Aurora. “We lost someone very dear to us yesterday, yet being here brings me closer to God. It feels amazing, and he seems like a truly authentic person, destined for this role since birth.”
“With so much division back in the United States, it’s refreshing to be here and witness everyone united,” noted Samuel Steinberg from Arlington Heights.
Ella Nearly, a Western Springs native and student, had multiple people point out her Chicago T-shirt.
“I was raised Catholic; both of my parents are catholic,” Nearly said. “They wanted me to take as much in and bring it back for them.”
As tourists pass through the now re-opened St. Peter’s Basilica one week after the pope’s election, Pope Leo XIV is assuming official duties.
“Especially lately, I feel like it’s been more important to me. So, coming here is just crazy to see it,” Nearly said.
Over 6 million visit Vatican City every year.
ABC7 has learned he has met with Brothers of Christian Schools at the Vatican: a group that includes several hundred priests and nuns who work as teachers in schools around the world.
Longtime Chicago friends of the Pope and fellow Augustinian priests are celebrating privately.
Some have come and gone; others are still preparing to travel.
Father Tony Pizzo is a college friend of the pope’s from the Midwest Augustinian order.
“I always say that, for some reason, he always seems to show up especially rich in my life. And he can be there for you, something that was also, it was always impressive,” Pizzo said.
Sources close to the new Pontiff told ABC7 that a quaint gelato stand just outside the Vatican walls is a personal favorite of Pope Leo’s.
Waiters at restaurant La Vittoria are keeping Pope Leo’s regular order under sworn secrecy.
Local vendors are struggling to keep up with demand because official merch is missing Vatican authorization.
“We need the authorization of the Vatican to sell the image of the new pope,” local merchant Angel Sonnino said. “We are authorized to work with this kind of rosary with the old pope, not for the new one.”
Sonnino said he didn’t know when that authorization would come.
He said he would sell rosary, magnets or maybe medals.
The world’s first American pope could be a boon for the trinket business.
“We hope. We hope. American is good people. We hope they come,” Sonnino said.
Watch Pope Leo XIV’s installation Mass on Sunday at 3 a.m. CT.
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