The NBC reporter on the street near the beginning of the procession was talking to some Americans who happen to be in Rome for a photography workshop. One mentioned what an honor it has been to be in Rome at a special moment. (The picture is a screen grab of the statues on the top of the facade of Santa Maria Maggiore.)
Francis has been special to me too, for personal reasons. We happened to be in Sicily when he was selected as pope in 2013. We had found a parking place and I went to call a B&B that looked promising. It was a few blocks from where we parked in the middle of Noto. Christie stayed in the car with her iPad, watching the papal news and studying the map and listings. It took most of an hour to call the B&B host who wasn't at home, walk to the B&B to meet him there, look at the room, accept it, and walk back to the car. The news of "Habemus Papam" (we have a pope) happened during that hour.
We moved the car closer to the B&B and watched some television in the room and in a nearby restaurant where we went for supper. We liked the location well enough to stay for three nights, using it as a hub for day trips to Siracusa and the southeastern corner of Sicily.
