Habemus Papam!!!

As of 2 am this morning, about 8 pm Rome time, a new pope was elected. The 265th pope, the successor of the beloved, late Pope John Paul II, hails from Germany. He served as his advisor, and the Dean of the College of Cardinals. It's the first time that the cardinal reckoned by the media to be the next pope actually got elected. He is no other than the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now known as his chosen name, Pope Benedict XVI.

Ok, I can't give any more background of the new leader of all Catholics all over the world. I first saw him during the late Pope's funeral, as shown on TV, he looked quite scary. And I heard someone comment on TV that she thinks that Pope Benedict XVI will rule "with iron arms". Now, tell me that doesn't scare you. He looks strict, some says he actually is. Will he be as charismatic as his predecessor? I sure hope so. My brother and I even had a bet. He says that Pope Benedict XVI will never step foot in the Philippines during his entire reign. (which hopefully will go for over 5 years) I say he will. Whoever wins... Will treat the other one to a big 18" Yellow Cab pizza! Yahoo! Hope I win! ;)

I wasn't really tuned in CNN the whole time. My brother just scurried out of his room and began screaming, "My bagong pope na! My bagong pope na! CNN! CNN!" He told me that earlier, there was a false alarm. The chimney of the Sistine Chapel emitted white smoke and caused everybody to go into a frenzy, but then it turned black. Wow, I wish I were there. That would've been so much fun. The adrenaline rush and all... Standing there for hours even days waiting for the new pope beats out lying in bed for days, weeks even, and doing nothing. The boredom is killing me. I can't wait 'till we go to Chine. And don't worry, I promise to bring back pictures of ground level toilets. Actually, they're just pits dug out so you could answer the call of nature there. Eww.

Don't forget, this Sunday is Pope Benedict XVI's inauguration!