SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A former San Diego theology professor is among the crowd of onlookers at the Vatican, waiting in anticipation as the next pope is chosen.
Aaron Bianco, who previously taught at the University of San Diego, joined me via Zoom from St. Peter's Square.
"Standing there, do you feel the weight of the moment?” I asked.
“I do, because it’s a huge pivotal point for the church," Bianco said.
Bianco's emotional journey to this moment began in San Diego.
We first spoke with him in 2018, after then-Bishop McElroy asked him to start an LGBT ministry at St. John the Evangelist Church in University Heights.
After months of harassment, vandalism, and death threats, Bianco resigned from his position as pastoral associate.
Four years later, after presenting a paper at a conference in Rome, he was invited by Pope Francis for a brief meeting at the Vatican. During that meeting, the Pope told Bianco he was aware of his story.
"And he said, I will pray for you, and the work is needed, so you cannot stop doing the work," Bianco said. "I started to cry, I remember thinking to myself, I can’t stop doing the work."
Bianco, who continues to teach and reach out to the LGBT community, felt compelled to fly to Rome and witness the conclave.
"I decided to come over with the hopes that we get someone who continues in Francis’ direction," Bianco said.
This isn't Bianco's first experience with a papal conclave. In 2005, while studying in Rome, he was at St. Peter's Square as crowds gathered to see the white smoke that preceded the announcement of Pope Benedict.
"It was the faith of these people that literally had them running up the streets, old women, older men, nuns," Bianco said.
Two decades later, Bianco feels a similar anticipation as he stands in a growing crowd, gazing at a chimney. He took a photo when black smoke followed the first vote on Wednesday evening, indicating no pope had yet been selected.
"A lot of younger people who are here on pilgrimage," Bianco said. "And yeah, there's just a lot of excitement in the air waiting to see that smoke come out."
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