March 14, 2013
When white smoke began to flow from the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel, social media buzzed with excitement over who would be the next leader of the Catholic Church.
During the peak of the buzz, Twitter was receiving 132,000 tweets per minute related to the Pope, according to the social media news site Mashable. That made it the second biggest Twitter event ever in terms of Tweets per minute, second only to President Barack Obama's election victory in 2012.
While some students gathered in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center to await the news of the new Pope Francis, other members of the Catholic University community took to their social media accounts to express their excitement about the announcement of a new Pope. Below are some of their Tweets.
"@CUAalumni @CatholicUniv next question - will new Pope be a CUA alumnus - several Cardinals are..." @WebQuirks
"RT If you're hoping for a #CUA alumnus Pope!" @Capierno
"Call me selfish, but I'm just hoping the next Pope is a @CathlicUniv alum. Chances could be pretty good! #CUA" @JohnWMcCarthy
"I've literally been staring at a balcony on live television for an hour now and I'm not even sorry #CUA" @floodlifee
"So many people watching the live feed in the pryz #cua #pope" @More_Mohr
"I went to The Catholic University of America, the only school in the U.S. with a papal charter. So...this Pope thing is a big deal to me." @SeanPMartin
"Are you watching the live feed to see who the new Pope is going to be? We are! #CUA #HabemusPapam" @ProgramBoardCUA
"Pope viewing party during #chemistry lab! #CUA." @CUAChemClub
"When Ed the photographer is in the Pryz, you know it's a party #cua #popewatch" @RLMartin5
"I have to admit it's pretty awesome to be going to The Catholic University of America during this amazing transition of a new Pope." @j_vesce
"Yes, I go to THE Catholic University of America where the bells have been ringing nonstop the last hour #newpope" @TaraGretchen
"What a great day to be a student at THE Catholic University of America. #whitesmoke #newpope #bellsringing" @EPrenda
"My daughter is a law student @CatholicUniv and says the bells are so loud they can't hear in their class! #Pope" @KHalveyGibson
"Loving the bells and watching party at @CatholicUniv!!! #HabemusPapam" @AlyceAnderson
"Only at CUA do you hear people yelling out of their dorms "WE HAVE A POPE!" #newpope #CUA" @Anebee3
"Heard the bells at @CatholicUniv before the @washingtonpost breaking news stream went up #whitesmoke #realtime" @WallaceBSara
"Witnessed a new president and a new Pope while being a student at the only Catholic University chartered by the Vatican in the US #CUA #WIN" @MakeyourDAYvon
"The news crews have started to show up at Catholic #CUA" @Matt_Hanrahan
"Just interviewed by NPR #wehaveapope #cua #basilica" @GowitdeFLO
"I'm feeling like that seagull on the chimney was a sign we would get a Pope Francis... #foreshadowing #CUA #habemuspapam" @AppleSnydaa
"So the Pope is coming to #CUA next year right @CatholicUniv?" @aRAFFLE_ticket
"I remember when I was in Rome with @CatholicUniv the last time a new Pope was named...I'm sure they are loving this experience!" @BDR45