The wait for a new pope is over, and many Catholics in the campus community are ready to move forward.
Tuesday afternoon, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger appeared before the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square as Pope Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, 78, is the 265th pope.
Born in Marktl am Inn, Germany, he was one of the favorites to be selected for the papacy. He is considered to be a conservative theologian and was a close associate of Pope John Paul II.
Sue Harte, the acting director of the Newman Center at Penn -- a Catholic hub on campus -- said that she was a bit taken aback by the selection.
"The appointment is a surprise for many of us, although he was a front-runner," Harte said.
"There are many American Catholics who are disappointed in the choice because of his history of being a legalistic papal authority," Harte said, adding that Ratzinger's strict adherence to tradition was upsetting to those hoping for a more progressive leader, who might be more willing to address some of the issues related to the sex scandals that have rocked many American Catholic dioceses in recent years.
But, she added, "we could all be surprised. He could become, in the position of pope, a much more pastoral priest."
Catholic students at Penn have generally positive feelings about the new pope.
College senior Bernardo Aparicio, who met Ratzinger briefly over the summer during a trip to Rome, is happy because the new pope had been John Paul II's "right hand."
"The real Ratzinger doesn't correspond with the image people have of him," Aparicio said. "He had a certain shyness about him. He's also very much an intellectual."
College sophomore Catherine Magyera said she has faith in the cardinals' decision.
"It's something new to behold," Magyera said. "I was pretty much bouncing off the walls in all my classes."
Some members of the lesbian gay bisexual transgender community at Penn, however, felt differently about a leader who is not likely to be much more accepting of homosexuality.
College freshman John Faneca had been hoping for "a more moderate pontiff."
"I think the cardinals made a very poor decision. Possibly the worst decision that they could have made from all the cardinals," said Faneca, who is a practicing Catholic.
College sophomore Angela Woodall was less affected by the news.
"I was a little disappointed about how conservative he is, but I am not Catholic, so it doesn't bother me that much," Woodall said. "It's just like another snowflake in a snowball."
Some are hopeful that Ratzinger will be different as pope.
College freshman Eric Wrigley said that he does not believe Ratzinger will be as hostile to the LGBT community as pope as he had been previously as a cardinal.
"I'm proud to be Catholic, but I'm also bi. I've got kind of conflicting feelings," Wrigley said. "I feel like he would be a good transition pope if he decides to become more compassionate."
The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia -- which is at the head of the diocese that includes New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and the District of Columbia -- will be commemorating the event by sending Archbishop Stefan Soroka to Vatican City.
"The Divine Liturgies this Sunday will be for the new pope at all our churches. That's about all we can do, is pray," said Sister Thomas, the chancellor of the Philadelphia Archeparchy.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia -- which Ratzinger has previously visited -- celebrated the occasion similarly.
"As soon as we had word of the selection of the Holy Father, the bells at the cathedral [in Philadelphia] started ringing," said Donna Farrell, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.
She added that Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, is currently in Rome and celebrated Mass yesterday with the new pope.
Ann Matter, chairwoman of the Religious Studies Department at Penn, said she found it surprising that the cardinals "didn't pick someone from the Third World."
"It shows the church is more concerned with preserving the European nature of the papacy," Matter said, adding that Ratzinger would likely be "an interim pope" due to his age.
Matter noted the difficulty in predicting what people do as pope and said that she was interested to watch what actions Ratzinger would take.
"Is he going to start speaking infallibly?" Matter said. "If he is as conservative as people think he is, he may start doing that."
