ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia Catholics are excited and still a little bit in shock after the announcement of the first American pope.

“My jaw is on the floor, I’m absolutely, never in a million years did I think we’d see an American walk out on that balcony. I was as shocked as everyone else,” said Professor Susan Reynolds, who teaches Catholic studies at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

Reynolds reaction mirrors a global response to Robert Prevost of Chicago being named Pope Leo XIV.

“He was a long shot because he’s an American,” said Gregory Hartmayer, the archbishop of Atlanta.

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A long shot that has Americans proud.

“It’s amazing, it’s unbelievable, we are so happy,” said Noranma Endurance, a Catholic who attends Christ the King.

“With Pope Francis and the new pope, it’s very exciting that we’re migrating more towards a global perspective,” said Chris Tobar, a lifelong Catholic.

Some people are a bit concerned.

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“The United States plays such a outsized role in the global, political landscape. There’s a sense of ‘This is too much power!’ You can’t be the global political leader and be the home of the Pope,’” said Reynolds.

But Pope Leo isn’t just a United States citizen. He was a minister in Peru for decades and recently worked in Rome.

“I think he was seen as not too American or American in a hemispheric sense, not U.S. American exclusively, and I think that is really important,” said Reynolds.

“I think he will have an attraction to a wide audience of people,” said Hartmayer.

“My reaction, like many people around the world, was surprised, which is not unusual,” he said. “We are surprised every time a pope is chosen. It seems like we cannot predict what the Holy Spirit is going to do through the cardinals, and this is no exception.”

Hartmayer, who said he’s never met the new pope, believes Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago-native, will resonate with Catholics in Georgia and abroad.

Hartmayer said the Archdiocese welcomed more than 3,000 new members into the Catholic Church solely on Easter weekend.

“People are looking for a moral compass, something to guide us through society,” he said.

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