Habemus Papam

"We have a pope. " Thirty years ago today, Karol Wojtyla was elected to the See of Peter. In this YouTube video, Cardinal Felici announces "Habemus Papam--We have a pope." Here is the text of what he says and the English translation:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Karlum,
Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Wojtyla,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit [Johannus Paulus II].

In English, it reads:

I announce to you a great joy:
We have a Pope!
The most eminent and most reverend Lord,
Lord Karol,
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [Wojtyla],
Who takes to himself the name of John Paul II.

Unlike the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict, after Pope John Paul II's first name (Karlum--Karl) was announced, the crowd was silent--most of them didn't know who he was. They didn't expect the Cardinal from Poland to be elected the first non-Italian pope since 1523.

I remember hearing the announcement over the PA system in my high school as we were getting ready to leave for the day. Most of us didn't know who he was either. So much in the world changed during his papacy. I don't think most of us had any inkling of the magnitude at the time.

God has blessed us in Pope John Paul II and in Pope Benedict.