A connection to Pope Leo XIV, from Van Nuys to Rome
I am now on my eighth pope. The good news is, I am still younger than the pope. In 1978, we were all excited to have a Polish pope and a man who was a mere youth at 58. Everyone but our dad, of course, who prayed for any newly elected pope, but told us with a touch of melancholy: “You know you’re old when you’re older than the pope.”
Obviously, it will likely be my turn at the next papal election, but for now, I’ll bask in the spiritual bubble bath we have been luxuriating in since Pope Leo XIV’s election. I was working in my home office on May 8 when my wife rushed in exclaiming, “There’s white smoke.” My wife and I sat in front of the television and waited. There seemed to be more pre-planned pageantry than I remembered from previous papal elections, with marching bands, the Swiss Guard, and what I assume were the various branches of the Italian armed services. I say “assume” on the odd chance those guys dressed like sailors were part of the Vatican Sixth Fleet in charge of patrolling the Tiber.