The Pope Is a Graduate of Villanova, Where the Church Bells Won’t Stop Ringing

On the campus of Villanova University, students watched the white smoke rise from the Sistine Chapel during a watch party on Thursday, and were stunned when they heard a familiar name.

“As soon as we heard ‘Prevost,’ everyone started cheering,” said Isabella Quatela, a senior who is graduating next week, in a phone interview.

A former student of the university, Robert Francis Prevost, had just become the new pope.