Silvana Dal Mas, an elderly nun of the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus who had come to Rome for the conclave, elbowed her way to the very front of the crowd. She said she would have preferred a Latin American pope, but when Ratzinger was named she quickly adjusted her sights.
"I am happy," she said, looking up at the balconies filled with cardinals. "People think the Germans are hard, but I come from near the border with Austria and when the Germans love, it's sincere. This pope will ... " she paused. "He will work very well."
Mario Marazziti, the spokesman and a founding member of the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic activist group that works with the poor and refugees, raced to St. Peter's Square when he heard about the white smoke. He found himself surprised by the new pope's demeanor.
To Marazziti, the usually stern Ratzinger seemed awestruck, even timid, as he stood on the balcony of the basilica, looking out at the crowd that had assembled to greet him.
"I think he was uncertain; he was intimidated tonight," Marazziti said. "He used minimalist words. And all of us today are the children of John Paul II who regard this strong and timid man.... I was moved, I found it tender."
Most excited about his election were groups of young people who had been devoted to John Paul II and were eager to transfer their affections to a new spiritual leader.
Bree Dail, 23, who attends Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., snagged a seat in the front row on Monday and Tuesday along with a handful of her fellow students so that she could watch the new pope close up. She had spent much of the day saying the rosary with her friends, hoping the cardinals would come to a decision.
When she heard Ratzinger's name, she leapt up, shouting and cheering. She, like so many others, could not help but associate him with the previous pope. "They gave us the best, [Ratzinger] has the heart of the Holy Father," she said, referring to John Paul. "We are happy, we are ecstatic, it's like we have a father."
The day was overcast and chilly. Dark clouds scudded across the sky, making it hard to tell if the initial curl of smoke rising at dusk from the Sistine Chapel was gray tending to black, or gray tending to white.
The piazza that saw scattered groups of people earlier in the day appeared suddenly to have filled to bursting. A group of Spanish nuns leapt onto chairs and began to chant, "We have a pope!"
