Father Donohue was busy himself on Thursday. He happened to be in Chicago, the new pope’s hometown, for a Villanova alumni event. Once the news was announced, scores of congratulatory texts and emails came in, including a note from the president of a rival Catholic university, Notre Dame.

F ather Peter Donohue, the president of Villanova University, was having lunch with a few of the school’s alums in a Chicago restaurant on Thursday when word got out that white smoke was billowing from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the election of a new Pope. Donohue asked the restaurant staff to turn up the TV sound.