Pope Francis reaction from Long Island

ROCKVILLE CENTRE (WABC) -- Reaction is coming in from all over Long Island about the election of the new pope.

"I think what we have is a very wonderful priest who is a very holy man," Bishop William Murphy/diocese of Rockville Centre said.

"I think that it's very interesting that he's an order priest, a Jesuit and here in the United States the Jesuits have such a wonderful reputation as teachers and I think as a pope to teach and be able to teach his people," Helen neuman of Saint Agnes School said.

Eyewitness News sat down with a prayer group at Saint Agnes church in Rockville Centre to talk about Pope Francis.

There's no doubt that many people don't know a lot about Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, but they're happy with the selection.

Lorrie Fenton is a teacher and says the kids in her classroom today were so excited by the announcement.

"One of the teachers said its white smoke and they went nuts, and they just sat there glued to it and then they grabbed hands and were actually praying they were so excited about it," she said.

The Rockville Centre Diocese on Long Island is the sixth largest in the country.

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