Mass held on UD campus to honor newly elected Pope

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - The University of Dayton held its first mass Thursday to honor newly elected Pope Francis.

Dozens gathered inside the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at noon. Mass began with a gathering hymn, "Love Live the Pope!"

"I'm just excited to take part in this," said Becky Welch, who is a junior at UD.  "It was a shock when Benedict resigned so obviously this is a new step forward for the church to have a new leader."

"I was watching the events yesterday," said Jenny Watercutter, who is a senior at UD.  "I was excited about it and wanted to come to mass.  I think its pretty neat Pope Francis is from South America."

UD Professor of Faith and Culture and former US Ambassador, Dr. Miguel Diaz believes a pope from Latin America will serve the church well and better allow it to reform.

"Almost half of the Catholics in the United States are of Hispanic- American decent," commented Dr. Diaz.  "I believe this Pope will be successful if he reaches out to victims of sexual abuse and others who are marginalized in the church as result of gender, sexual orientation, social economic conditions."