University of Mary Students Witness History - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

University of Mary Students Witness History

A group of UMary students watch history in the making.

Students from the university's Rome campus were on-location for yesterday's conclave.

It's an experience one University of Mary student describes as intense.

"It was really, really cool to see, especially right as the smoke arose, because people didn't even what to do right away. It was kind of weird. And then, there were so many different emotions. It was really crazy." says Tony Dukart.

"Yeah. First, it was just like, 'Okay. We need to make it to the front! And we start running. And then it was like, 'Holy cow! We have a new pope!' So then, people started crying. And then, the crowd just went wild and everyone started screaming." says Kaitlyn Lengerfelder.

And the students didn't have to wait long.

They arrived fewer than ten minutes before white smoke rose from the chimney.

And less than an hour later, they watched as Pope Francis emerged from behind the curtain.

"We were like 20 yards, wasn't it? 20 yards from the barrier. So, it was a great view," says Dukart.

"Every time the curtain would ruffle, the crowd would scream and then when the lights came on from the balcony, everyone would scream. Any little movement-- Oh! It's going to happen! But yeah. That was also very entertaining as well," says Lengerfelder.

The students plan to attend Pope Francis' Installation Mass next Tuesday.