Orange County couple traveled to Vatican City to see election of Pope Leo XIV
An Orange County couple is still taking in their recent trip to Vatican City after experiencing the recent conclave from Saint Peter's Square and seeing the white smoke billow into the sky.
For Annette and Chuck Walker, their trip to Italy started with a 3 a.m. wakeup call almost three weeks ago, learning that Pope Francis had passed away.
"I'd always kind of had this in my head that someday I wanted to be at a conclave. So, by the time Chuck woke up at 6 a.m., I said, 'We got to go to conclave,'" Annette said.
She said when she told her husband about the idea, he said she was "crazy" for thinking they could pull it off, but they did.
The life-long Catholics arrived on May 2 and stayed near Vatican City, booking a hotel and soaking up every moment. The atmosphere, they said, was electric, with thousands of people all across St. Peter's Square on the first day of voting.
"But that, even for me, just gave me chills to say, 'We're here and it's actually happening,'" Chuck said.
Then, on the fourth vote, the white smoke signaled the election of a new pope.
"It's like everyone starts cheering and clapping and dancing. The bells are ringing in St. Peter, and then the bells around the entire city ring," Chuck said.
Annette said she's not sure they'll ever be able to top that historic experience. She described their trip more like a pilgrimage instead of a vacation.
A pilgrimage that now echoes in the chorus of history, shared by tens of thousands in Vatican City and millions more across the world.
"When you look at what a pilgrimage is, it is that you go to a holy place in order to get closer to God," Chuck said. "Well, this journey definitely was that. We went to Rome, experienced this and walked away just being closer to God."
The trip also happened at the same time as their 45th wedding anniversary. They said one of their favorite parts of the experience was seeing so many different people from all over the world sharing this historic moment with them.
