Definitely a lot of shock. I know a lot of people at the center were saying it would never be an American pope, and when it came out on TV that he was American, I think we all felt a huge sense of pride for our country.
Mr. Thompson said that he and his roommates felt deflated... he couldn't see why he was supposed to listen to life advice from a fictional character. It's a little silly, having a puppet as a commencement speaker.