Prioress of Dominican Sisters in Houston witnesses Pope Leo greet world at Pope
Houston nun reflects on Pope's election
As Pope Leo XIV speaks on his first Sunday as pope. A Houston nun talks about just what this means as the new pope ascends.
HOUSTON - Sister Donna Pollard, Prioress for the Dominican Sisters of Houston says being in St. Peters square the moment Pope Leo walked out onto the balcony of St. Peters Basilica is one she will never forget.
"We just feel that the holy spirit was working and those cardinals and those men in there I think, did a great job with, you know who they had and who is the best fit for the church right now," said Sister Donna Pollard, OP.
Sister Donna Pollard recaps the moment Pope Leo walked out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basillica
The backstory:
For a while, Sister Donna says she knew she would be in Rome, but when Pope Francis passed, she realized she would be there during the conclave.
"It’s UISG, and it’s the international union of superiors general, so it’s all the superiors of the women’s congregations around the world are invited to a meeting," said Sister Donna. "Then our Dominican network, Dominican Sister International, always backs up their meetings every 3 years to the UISG,"
Sister Donna says she’s thankful she took an Uber back to St. Peters square that Thursday.
"So we got out of the Uber and we were probably about 4 to 500 meters, and we just walked as fast as we could down there and I mean you could just sense the excitement from everyone," said Sister Donna, "People just first of all, talking about who is it going to be and people are all guessing and even when it was announced right away people didn't click because it was hard to hear what the cardinal had said."
Sister Donna shares hopes for Pope Leo's impact on Catholic Church
"When the cardinal came out to make the announcement, the place erupted. It was once in a lifetime. I can’t even describe it I’m till pinching myself that I was there," said Sister Donna.
Local perspective:
Sister Donna Pollard says she was genuinely shocked to realize the new pope was an American, but she thinks Pope Leos' religious background and similarities to Pope Francis will be good for the Catholic church.
" In terms of kind of the same values and being at a missionary in Peru like he was just his whole social justice stances he’s not going to be Pope Francis he’s going to be his own person," said Sister Donna, " I think he will challenge injustices when he sees them and speaks out in a proactive way, challenges people to think about in their faith what we need to be doing in certain circumstances like this.