'Angel' Seen in Florida Sky After Pope is Named

An angel appeared the day the new pope was selected.

That's what it looked like, at least, to many in the Royal Palm Beach area of South Florida a few hours after Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was introduced as Pope Francis --- and they saw a pinkish-colored cloud formation that strangely resembled a winged inhabitant of Heaven.

Naturally, some church faithfuls suggested the angel cloud might have been a signal from above that the Cardinals' choice of Bergoglio as the new pontiff was the right one.

A native of Argentina, Francis already claims a a special place in the hearts of Latino Catholics as the first  the new pope, or Papa, as he's referred to in Spanish, from South America.

The image of the angelic cloud was photographed from throughout the South Florid by folks who tehen forwarded their shots to local news outlets, including TV stations WFLX and WPTV.

"It looks like an angel to me, it really, really does...I thought 'wow, this is really something, you know?' It made me feel like something is watching over us," Diane Barnwell, who was able to snap photos of the mysterious wisp as it floated through the sky, told WPTV. " And I know the pope was elected yesterday so maybe that was a sign that God is happy."

Raymond Russo of St. Ann Catholic Church in West Palm Beach told the Jacksonvill Observer newspaper that he saw a different spiritual leader in the cloud: "To me it looks like Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit all in one, coming to give us a message of good tidings."

Father Nestor Rodriguez, the pastor St. Ann, offered the Observer a slightly different assessment of the atmospheric apparition.

"Obviously people will see different things, but I think if it's significant for people of faith, said Rodriguez, and "if it gives us inspiration --- glory to God!"