There was no Catholic guilt about ditching work to say a prayer for Pope Leo.
Faithfull New Yorkers dropped everything Thursday and rushed to St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate the first American pope.
Some ran out of their offices, dropped business meetings or jumped into their cars in the middle of the day to join dozens congregated at the iconic Manhattan church.
“I was shouting in the office, everybody was looking at me,” said Lauren Smith, 25, an accountant who was eating lunch when she spotted white smoke bursting out of the Vatican’s chimney on a live stream, indicating that the conclave had ended less than two days after it kicked off.
“I was so excited to see who the new pope was going to be. We knew we had to come here,” she said from the Midtown cathedral.
Cardinal Robert Frances Prevost, who was born in Chicago and attended Villanova University, was elected to lead the Catholic Church under the new name Pope Leo XIV.
“I work 10 minutes away, so the minute we saw that white smoke was coming through the chimney at the Vatican, we ran over from the office,” said Jackie Johnson, 27, an accountant from Brooklyn.
“It makes me feel more connected to the Vatican,” she said of having an American pontiff, adding she hoped that the newly elected religious figure would inspire young people to turn toward religion.
“I hope he treats the role well and I hope God watches over him and all the things that he does,” she said, noting she hopes he will continue following the progressive groundwork that Pope Francis left behind.
“I hope he brings the Catholic Church back to young people. I know that going to Mass on Sundays, not a lot of young people my age do it, so I hope he encourages more younger people to get involved with the church as well.”
Brian Kerwin, a wealth manager from New Jersey, was driving into the city to attend a meeting that he ended up ditching when his girlfriend shared the good news.
“My first reaction was to come here to pray, give thanks. It’s God’s will that I am St. Patrick’s,” Kerwin, 69, told The Post, noting he attended Villanova at the same time as the new Holy Father was there studying mathematics, but the two never crossed paths.
“I’m hoping, particularly as an American, that he brings people together rather than pushing people apart, that he preaches the gospel and it’s all about love, not hate,” Kerwin said. “I think it’s an American, it’s kind of a unique position to be in right now. I’m so happy, I couldn’t be happier.”
Ernesto Peralta, 59, was watching TV in The Bronx and immediately got behind the wheel when he saw the white smoke on the screen.
He drove to St. Pat’s to pray and light a candle for the new pope.
“God bless not only him, but everybody,” he said.
Over in Astoria, La Guli Pastry fired up its kitchen and began baking trays of “Pope Leo” cookies to celebrate the historic occasion.
The famous pastry shop — which had been selling Pope Francis cookies since 2015 — was fielding calls from customers for the treats, which have a photo image of Pope Leo XIV printed on them, just seconds after the white smoke erupted from the chimney in Rome.
“This is an exciting time not only for Catholics but for the world to see the white smoke and know that there is a new leader of the Catholic Church, especially an American,” said bakery owner Maria Notaro.
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