2 Utah Catholics see history made

Danielle Deveraux and Jo Fletcher never imagined they'd have a seat at the creation of history this week.

They didn't think they would witness the crowds and fervor; the emotion of receiving a blessing from Pope Benedict XVI.

The Davis County women were two of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square on Tuesday. They saw the white smoke that announced the selection of Joseph Ratzinger as pope, heard the bells and were embraced by a crowd of pilgrims.

"It's so hard to describe," said Fletcher during a call from Rome on Thursday. "There were people on their knees praying, people crying. It was weird, something you think you would never experience — and you do."

Fletcher had been preparing to go to Rome for months. For Deveraux, it was a surprise graduation gift planned by her family and Fletcher, her aunt.

"It was incredible," Deveraux said. "It was awesome to be there and witness all of that and be with the people, the other Catholics."

Each year, a teacher at Davis High School plans a spring break trip for students, parents and other teachers. They've been to Prague and Vienna in past years.

Rome was the selection this year.

Fletcher, a counselor at the Kaysville school, said Rome was a trip she couldn't miss. Her grandfather was born in Italy and it was almost like coming home, she said. "This is where I came from," said Fletcher.

As a Catholic, the experience has been particularly meaningful.

Before Fletcher and 23 others from Utah arrived in Rome on Sunday, friends and relatives kept telling her she'd witness the selection of the pope. Fletcher didn't believe them.

"I never would have guessed it would have taken place while we were here," she said. "I didn't think I'd witness it."

Amid trips to tourist spots, glimpses of work by Bernini and Michelangelo, and Mass with the cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica, Fletcher and Deveraux spent hours waiting in St. Peter's Square.

On Monday, they saw black smoke — meaning a pope had not yet been chosen — come from the Sistine Chapel, where 115 voting cardinals held conclave. Tuesday afternoon, they staked out a spot near columns in the square where two nuns came and sat by them.

It was a sign, said Fletcher, because "sure enough," the pope was selected.

And it came after only three votes.

"It was like a peaceful feeling and he came out and blessed the entire square and the amount of people that filled the square was amazing," she said.

Reports say that thousands came to the square after hearing bells from the churches or seeing the white smoke, which signaled a pope had been chosen.