CHARLOTTE — The white smoke from the Sistine Chapel made Catholic school classrooms across the diocese freeze and quickly turn on the TV. Teachers and students put a pause to learning for this once-in-a-lifetime event as they watched the first North American pope ever elected appear in the window and deliver his first address. Cheers, applause and screams erupted as students jumped out of their seats in excitement. For once, instead of the teachers trying to calm down the chaos, they joined in, enjoying a truly historic moment where religion and patriotism intertwine:
