DAILY NEWS PHOTO/Marcelle Hanemann

When she got word Wednesday that white smoke had signaled a new pope had been selected to lead the Catholic Church, Annunciation Catholic School Principal Veda Matthews had some of her students ring the church bells and others create a sign in celebration of the news. The excitement about the new Pope Francis, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, continued in classrooms, hallways and throughout the campus on Thursday. Shown with a sign declaring, “We have a pope” in Latin are, from left, Devin Pounds, Jacob Campos, McKenzie Cefalu, Ashton Foster, Cade Day, Claire Jenkins, Justin Stewart, McKenna Fussell, Drew Wagoner and Wyatt Verrett.