ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Reactions to the new head of the Roman Catholic Church are still coming in on Friday. A teacher at Notre Dame High School in Elmira shared that her students were jumping for joy yesterday when the new pope was chosen.

Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost was selected as the first American pontiff, taking the name Leo XIV.

Notre Dame theology teacher Jessica Ryan says the high school's principal announced over the PA system that white smoke was coming out of the Sistine Chapel on Friday and asked teachers to turn on the live stream videos and meet their new pope.

Ryan adds that she and her seventh-grade students were shocked to learn that Pope Leo XIV had come from their own country, calling the moment monumental and historic.

"I'm so excited," said Ryan. "I obviously want to learn more about him, so I think that will be like our next step in the classroom is getting to know him. So I've been doing a little bit of reading last night, I do know that he's very strong on Catholic social teaching, which is really something we teach here at Notre Dame, so I'm excited to see how that unfolds."

She says, as the community begins to learn more about Leo, she hopes that this opens up possibilities for young people to be more involved with the church and that this announcement is a moment to remember.

"The one thing that I really hope that we see from Pope Leo XIV is a very pastoral inclusion of all people to bring people into the church, the sacraments," said Ryan. "You know the world is a very different place since when Christianity kind of took root in the world from our first pope, St. Peter. So I hope he has the wisdom and strength to carry this role, but really to have people turn to God, be included, not to turn away from the church. So I'm really, really hopeful. It's a joyful time to be a Catholic when a new Pope is elected."