Mere minutes after white smoke began billowing out of a smokestack atop the Sistine Chapel in Rome, a similar scene began playing out at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
Seminarians at Saint John Vianney College Seminary (SJV) got right to work spreading the news. On the roof of their dormitory on the St. Thomas campus, they started up a smokestack of their own making. Part fog machine, part sauna, the smokestack soon announced to the St. Thomas community that the Catholic Church had a new leader.
“We just wanted to alert the campus to the great joy, the hope, and the unity that our new Holy Father is bringing to the world,” said Brennan Crow ’26, a seminarian at SJV.
When Pope Leo XIV was officially introduced to the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, the seminarians were watching it live. Very quickly they realized they had a personal connection. Many of the seminarians had studied abroad fall 2024 in Rome and had spent an evening getting to know then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.
“The Pope is someone that is, you know, as Catholics we're excited to celebrate, but to announce someone we've met, it's an unbelievable feeling,” Brennan said.
The seminarians shared their excitement with a procession around campus designed to mimic the festivities at the Vatican. Seminarians posed as cardinals, fake security, and one even stood in as the pope while riding a makeshift popemobile (they had borrowed a service vehicle from St. Thomas facilities).
It was Rector Father Jonathan Kelly’s idea to install the SJV smokestack as the conclave began.
“I thought it would be a great way for us to engage the campus in a lighthearted way,” Kelly said. “We do a lot of serious things too, but this was a chance to not take ourselves too seriously as we celebrate a new pope.”
Pope Leo XIV, elected pontiff on the second day of the conclave, is the first American pope in Church history. His selection was an unexpected one for many on the St. Thomas campus.
“The announcement of an American pope caught me, like others, by surprise,” said Michael Naughton, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Thomas. “Taking the name of Leo is intriguing in light of the great accomplishments of both Leo XIII and Leo the Great. Leo XIV sees himself as a missionary, which is so necessary for the renewal of the Church. It is an exciting time to see how he will lead the Church.”
Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, the University of St. Thomas has long endeavored to educate morally responsible leaders who work to advance the common good. A new pope brings new opportunities to deepen that mission.
“We learned many lessons from Pope Francis – building solidarity and a culture of encounter,” said Father Christopher Collins ’93, SJ, vice president for mission. “We drew so much inspiration from Francis, and I’m sure we’ll continue to draw on the thought and preaching of Leo XIV.”
The entire St. Thomas community is invited to an outdoor Mass on John P. Monahan Plaza to pray for the new pope. The Mass will take place on May 9 at 12:10 p.m.
