BRAINTREE -- While Augustinian Father Peter Gori was in the middle of celebrating a funeral Mass on May 8, he received some disquieting news from the funeral director.

"There's white smoke," the director whispered to him.

At first, Father Gori thought that someone was using incense at the wrong time. Then he realized that the "white smoke" was coming from the Sistine Chapel. Not only had a new pope been chosen, but the new pope was someone Father Gori had known for decades.

"I was, like most anybody else, very shocked and very surprised, and for Augustinians very pleased, very happy, very joyful," Father Gori, pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Andover, said on May 13.

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, is the first pope from the U.S. and the first pope from the Augustinian order. Father Gori did not expect to see a U.S. pope in his lifetime.

"The Holy Spirit knows better," he said. "Always did, always does, always will."

Father Gori and Pope Leo XIV were both students in the Augustinian formation program.

"I would describe him as very gentle, very soft-spoken, very smart, kind, good listener," Father Gori said. "Qualities that he still has."

Father Gori and Pope Leo XIV crossed paths again in 1983, when Father Gori went to study in Rome. After that, the two men went their separate ways until Pope Leo XIV became the prior general of the Order of St. Augustine in 2001. Father Gori recalled that Pope Leo XIV would always consult with his fellow Augustinians before making any major decisions.

"That's a bedrock component of Augustinian life," he said.

On May 10, Pope Leo XIV visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy. Our Lady of Good Counsel is a favorite title for Mary among the Augustinians and a devotion shared by Pope Leo XIV and his namesake predecessor Pope Leo XIII.

"I think he's still doing that," Father Gori said. "He's going to trust the Holy Spirit to guide him and to guide the church as Jesus told him he would."

Pope Leo XIII was also dedicated to social justice and a pioneer of Catholic social teaching.

"Pope Leo XIV is committed to that same kind of value or values," Father Gori said.

Augustinian Father Nicanor Vivas, parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, was on a retreat in Spencer when he heard the news of Pope Leo XIV's election. He heard that the new pope was a man named "Roberto Francesco."

"When I heard the name Roberto Francesco, I thought, 'Who is the new pope?'" Father Vivas said on May 12.

He always knew him as Robert Prevost. It took him a little while to realize who they were talking about.

"I said, 'Oh my goodness.' I was personally with the new pope in Venezuela and Peru. It was amazing. Still I don't believe he is the pope," Father Vivas said.

A native of Venezuela, Father Vivas met Pope Leo XIV when the pope visited that country as prior general of the Order of St. Augustine. Father Vivas was a student at the time.

"He's a humble man," he said. "He listened to people and he's very intelligent."

He took note of Pope Leo XIV's humility and his direct way of speaking.

"I learned from him to be closer to the people," he said.

He said that Pope Leo XIV's work will be challenging because it is a "difficult time" for the church.

"For all the Augustinians around the world it's a beautiful opportunity to show the people our charism, our work with the people," he said. "I think he is the right man at the moment."

Augustinian Father Raymond Dlugos, vice president of Mission and Ministry at Merrimack College in North Andover, was a classmate of Pope Leo XIV at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. They were both Augustinian seminarians and took philosophy classes together. When Pope Leo XIV became prior general, he and Father Dlugos would have lunch and conversations.

"He's quiet. He's unassuming. He's humble. He's very kind and very gentle and very caring," Father Dlugos said on May 12. "He's a very good leader, but he doesn't push. He invites, he calls, and he can be very convincing without being overbearing."

He also recalled that the pope had "a sneaky, sly sense of humor."

His teachers and classmates at Villanova had great respect for him.

"I think we all recognized that this was a person of substance that was going to do a lot of good for the church," Father Dlugos said.

He believes that Pope Leo XIV will bring a "deep commitment to try to foster community and conversation" within the church. When he heard the news of Pope Leo XIV's election, he felt both proud and humbled.

"It is an enormous responsibility that has been given to one of my brothers," he said. "I think he's very much up to it, but I was very excited and also very nervous."

He said he was surprised but also not surprised by the news. To him, Pope Leo XIV "checks all the boxes."

"He knows what he's in for, and I think he's ready for it, but it's still a very hard job," he said.