It is such a joy when the chimney of the Sistine Chapel emits white smoke and the Vatican bells begin ringing gloriously as a heralding to the world of the fact that the See of Peter is no longer vacant. Once again, we have a pope. But the relief and joy, for those who are keen followers of the papacy, very quickly translates into an instantaneous anxiety over who this new pope is going to be and what he would be like as compared to our popes of the recent past. Will he be as media-friendly as the Blessed John Paul II? Will he be as theologically astute as Pope Benedict XVI? Such disconcerting speculations, amidst others, race through one's mind.

I must admit that my heart skipped a beat when the new Supreme Pontiff appeared at the balcony without the traditional papal mozzetta (there is even a special one made for the Lenten and Advent seasons, but he was not wearing it).