Here’s what Beaufort County church leaders say about 1st American pope. ‘What a joy’
Church leaders in Beaufort County, located across 7,000 miles of Atlantic Ocean from Vatican City, were among the worldwide audience that reacted with relief when the telltale white smoke wafted from the Sistine Chapel. The white puffs from the covered chimney signified that the assembled cardinals had selected a replacement for Pope Francis, who died April 21 at 88.
Roman Catholics have a new leader following two days of voting by more than 100 church cardinals: 69-year-old Robert Prevost, a cardinal from Chicago, the first American pontiff in church history. He will be known as Leo XIV.
Prevost is the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
Local Catholics such as Willard Fosberry, parish manager at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Lady’s Island near Beaufort, were surprised and delighted an American was chosen to lead the church. (We) “thought there would never be a cardinal ascending to the papacy through the American church,” Fosberry said.
It was thrilling to have an event as large as the selection of a pope occur during the middle of a school day because Father Andrew Trapp was able to gather 150 kids in the social hall at St. Peter’s Catholic School to watch a live feed of the introduction of Pope Leo XIV, Fosberry added.
At 1:27 p.m. Thursday, Prevost, the 267th leader of the Catholic Church, emerged on the St. Peter’s Basilica balcony in Vatican City, reading from a prepared statement and addressing the massive crowd in fluent Italian. His first words: “Peace be with you all.”
During the hour between the white smoke indicating the pope’s selection and his introduction to the world, anticipation built among the St. Peter’s students watching in Lady’s Island. Trapp used that time for instruction, prayer and fun as the kids were asked to make their best guesses who the next pope would be.
“When he finally came out in the front of the (Vatican) Square, everybody was clapping and applauding right along with the people in Rome,” Fosberry said.
Members of the congregation will get to know who Pope Leo XIV is over the next few weeks, Fosberry said. But in the meantime “we’re really joyous about the peaceful and beautiful transition of St. Peter’s power here on earth,” said Fosberry, referring to the succession of popes the church believes dates to the time of the Apostle Peter.
St. Peter’s invited locals to Mass “to pray for (Pope Leo) and his papacy” at the parish’s regular times this weekend:
- Saturday at 5 p.m.
- Sunday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
- Sunday at 1 p.m. (Spanish)
Lowcountry church leader speak to the news
Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, met with reporters Thursday afternoon to discuss the selection of the new pope.
“What a joy, what a joy,” he said.
The Bishop was hopeful that the newly-elected Pope’s nationality would bring about a country-wide resurgence in Catholicism, especially for the younger generation.
In his studies and time spent in the church, the Bishop said, he has noted that the Pope’s chosen name indicates his intended mission.
When his name was announced, the Bishop thought of Pope Leo XIII who led the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. The former Pope was recognized for his dedication to social justice and for his communication with the modern world, the Bishop said.
Pope Leo XIII also gave permission to the Bishop’s religious order to work with immigrants when they were moving to the United States, he said.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
