Bishop Mark Bartchak of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese addresses local media at the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown Pastoral Center on Thursday about the selection of Pope Leo XIV. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The election of Pope Leo XIV took many local members of the Catholic community by surprise, not because of the speed at which it occurred, but because he is the first American to hold the papacy in its millenia-long history.

“I am 71 years old and I never thought the day would come that I would see an American pope,” said Deborah Bartley, director of religious education at St. Mary’s in Altoona. “I am over the top. I am so excited about it.”

Bartley said Leo’s educational background would really help him provide guidance to the church’s followers.

“I think he’s going to be the type of pope who will be for all people, not just Catholics,” Bartley said. “And I am happy about that. We need more unity.”

Bishop Mark Bartchak also welcomed the new pope, noting his election came during the observation of “the Jubilee Year begun by Pope Francis.”

“They had known each other for a number of years because Pope Leo was appointed by Pope Francis as the Bishop of the Diocese Chiclayo in Peru, South America, before he came to work in the Vatican,” Bartchak said. “This is something unique, since we now have two popes who spent much of their lives ministering to the poor in South America.”

Bartley said Leo’s experience with missionary work will be very beneficial during his time as pope, since he worked with “the poorest of the poor.”

“It’s not easy to be a missionary and see that and live that way,” Bartley said. “I think it’s very hard. I think the fact that he has done that means he has to have a very loving heart.”

Bartchak said Leo and Francis also knew each other through their South American missionary work.

“So, with the tracks being pretty close already, they think he’s going to be able to continue what Pope Francis had already put in place,” Bishop Bartchak said.

Leo being American-born “bridges one of the challenges that has been spoken about” for years, Bartchak said, which was the concern that the United States has too much control as a global superpower to also have potential influence over the papacy.

“That’s not what our church is supposed to be about,” Bartchak said. “We’re supposed to be more concerned for the ordinary person.”

Lisa Drabic, a member of St. Therese Catholic Church, was also always told the pope was “never going to be an American” because the cardinals “say they don’t want to elect an American” due to socioeconomic and political power. She described her reaction to the news of Leo’s election as “absolute shock.”

“The coolest thing about it is, he went to Villanova,” Drabic said. “He lived in Pennsylvania. The pope ate a cheesesteak.”

Drabic is hopeful about Leo’s election, as he’s “really into” getting the youth back into church.

April Lauver, a member of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, agreed, saying it “gives him a more worldly view.”

“I think that’s important to have in a pope, to be amongst the people,” Lauver said.

With two children herself, Lauver said she is “especially excited” to find out Leo not only had a passion for people on the “outskirts” of society, but that he wanted to find ways to bring youth back into the church.

“I found in the last year or so that I’ve been seeing the need to give kids something to look forward to in coming to church,” Lauver said.

At 69, Leo would also be young enough to have “come up during this digital age and (have) experience with it,” Drabic said.

“I think that’s going to be important, to be more understanding of how the world works in this media age,” Drabic said.

Bartley said she hoped Leo would be able to travel, hear the people and “be a real shepherd.”

“I think this new pope will be a continuation of Pope Francis,” Bartley said. “He has a lot of the same beliefs … (Pope Francis) was known as the People’s Pope and I think you’re going to see that this pope is going to be much like that. That’s what I’m most excited about.”

Drabic and Lauver, who are cousins, visited Rome with six other family members and attended two audiences with Francis, Drabic said. About 36 hours later, he was admitted to the hospital.

“All he cared about was being nice to people,” Drabic said. “If someone did something wrong, you’re not the one to reprimand them.”

Lauver said the trip was a “spiritual pilgrimage” and they weren’t sure if Pope Francis would feel well enough for an audience until the day prior. He then spent two hours greeting visitors.

“We were his last private audience,” Lauver said. “Now we have to go meet Pope Leo.”