CINCINNATI — This nun never imagined her former student would be the next pope.
Sister Therese DelGenio of the Sisters of Notre Dame De Namur shared her memories of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, exclusively with WCPO 9 News.
"Well, it was really funny," DelGenio said, recalling the moment she heard a new pope was selected. "It was my 84th birthday, and I knew the conclave was going on, but I had no idea when I was driving this gentleman to Social Security, that the white smoke had appeared and that the decision had already been made."
For DelGenio, the election of the 267th pope, Pope Leo XIV, is a divine act of God’s will.
"The week before, his best friend (Father John) and I emailed him in support of his grief in the loss of Pope Francis, who was a colleague and a mentor and a friend," DelGenio said. "And Father John said, 'Well, how you doing with all the pressure of the conclave beginning?' and Bob’s response, 'Well, there just isn’t a chance that anybody from Chicago is going to be chosen.'"
DelGenio taught Robert Francis Prevost 40 years ago at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he was preparing for ministry and ordination in his early twenties.
Watch Sister DelGenio reflect on Pope Leo XIV as a student and a leader below:
She described the young man who would become pope, whom she still has direct contact with to this day, as a "risk taker" with a heart fixed on service.
"Most of the ministry sites that were available to the students there were in schools and parishes," DelGenio said. "But the one that he chose was at St. Victor Parish. But it was to work on an outreach team with all lay people. And these people were trained to learn about drug addiction, alcoholism and the suffering of the family as well as the addict, and to do crisis intervention for them."
The sister tells WCPO she’s confident under Pope Leo’s leadership that the true mission of the universal church will continue with a renewed purpose.
We asked her what message she thought was being sent by the cardinals in selecting, for the first time in the 2,000-year history of the church, a pope born in the United States.
"I'm not sure what was in their minds and hearts, but I think they all prayed for authenticity," said DelGenio. "And I think they saw his sense of community because of his belonging to the Augustinian Community, and that he had a missionary heart for the poor. So he’s not just local and concerned about the United States. He has a global heart and a global vision."
