From Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh to Duke University in Durham, Catholics around the Triangle on Thursday celebrated the election of Robert Prevost as pope of the Catholic Church, the first American to lead the church in its nearly 2,000-year history. There have been 17 popes named since the United States declared independence in 1776. Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV, is the first citizen of the United States to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

"It’s overwhelming joy. You talk to anybody, they have that joy, and just that excitement for the future," said David Beckert, a rising junior at North Carolina State University who was attending mass at NC State's Catholic Campus Ministry.

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Prevost, 69, a Chicago-born missionary, spent most of his career ministering in Peru and then took over the Vatican's powerful office of bishops.

"There is a part in the mass where we pray for the pope. Since our previous pope passed away, we haven't been able to pray for our pope," siad. Dani Irving, Development Director of NC State's Catholic Campus Ministry. "The fact that we’re able to pray for Pope Leo by name in this mass for the very first time was just very exciting for all of us."

Twelve cardinals were considered to be in the running to lead the church, including Prevost. But he was thought to be a long shot. There had been a long taboo against an American pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere.

Egardo Colon-Emeric, dean of Duke Divinity School and co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, said he did not expect the conclave would elect an American pope.

"It's truly a remarkable moment in history of the church and the history of Christianity in the United States to have a pope ... who understands the cultural situation in the United States, and who can, in that regard, perhaps witness to the United States in a way that would be particularly effective in our current moment, and in helping those of us who are Christian, Catholic and other Christians, and also all people of good will to aspire to a way of life that is life giving for all," Colon-Emeric said.

At Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Raleigh, paritioners at the church's Spanish mass said they're hopeful that the new pope will be a voice of faith not just the United States, but around the world.

"We feel so happy," said one paritioner to WRAL News. "We pray to the Lord that everything is coming better to us."

For Father Juan Manuel of Sacred Heart, it's a beacon of hope.

"The pope is presenting religion to the whole world, not just Catholics, so the whole world can have peace, no matter what they're going through," Manual said.

The conclave, which started on Wednesday, is considered one of the shortest conclaves in decades, while it is not the shortest conclave ever, the speed by which a new pope was decided shocked many, including Bishop Luis Zarama with the Catholic Diocese in Raleigh.

"A pope from America, for the holy spirit, it was the right time, so it's the right time for me too," Zarama said. "It's a surprise who he will bring th egospel in the way the gospel needs to be presented today.

Inside the spiritual center at Cardinal Gibbons High School, around 40 students gathered as white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, erupting when they learned the leader of the Catholic Church would be an American.

"I feel incredible. I almost cried during the Hail Mary," said Amelia Bristow, a student at Cardinal Gibbons. "There are 1.8 billion Catholics in the world, and we got to be part of that."

Cardinal Gibbons students were on spring break when Pope Francis passed away on the day after Easter. They said the moment Leo XIV was selected is one they'll cherish forever as they joined the new pontiff in a Hail Mary from thousands of miles away.

"It was definitely incredibly special," said Charlotte, a junior at Cardinal Gibbons. "Especially to experience with your best friend. I see this overwhelming joy of faith and excitement of an [American] pope. That's such an exciting experience."