Very few countries have ever had a pope. So the chronology of events today was quite interesting for me, especially since I was in Cologne to take care of a favor for a friend. Cologne is the Catholic church headquarters here in Germany.

Here is a chronology in local time (Central European Daylight Savings Time) of today’s election:

5:55 pm: As I drive to a "Staples" office supply store in Bonn (yes, there are "Staples" stores in Germany!), Germany’s national domestic radio station "Deutschlandfunk" interrupts regular broadcasting to announce that white smoke appears to be rising from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

6:01 pm: At the start of its regular on-the-hour news broadcast, the "Deutschlandfunk" announces that white smoke is rising from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

6:10 pm: As I arrive at the "Staples" store, the "Deutschlandfunk" announces that the bells of St. Peter’s in the Vatican are ringing, confirming the white smoke i.e. the selection of a new pope. The station announces that the name of the new pope will be known within 20-30 minutes.

6:20 pm: After completing my purchase at "Staples", I start to drive through the northern part of Bonn toward the autobahn that leads to Cologne. The bells of Catholic churches along my route are ringing loudly.

6:50 pm: As I enter the northern suburbs of Cologne, the "Deutschlandfunk" is now carrying the voice of new Pope Benedict XVI – Germany’s Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the first truly German pope in about 1000 years – as he completes the blessing "Urbi et Orbi" from the window of the papal apartment at St. Peter’s.

7:10 pm: I approach the main train station in Cologne, where I have to measure a site where a friend from Hamburg will construct a storage compartment at the train station. Old radio interviews with Cardinal Ratzinger – Pope Benedict XVI – are being broadcast. It is the first time I have heard Cardinal Ratzinger speak German. He has at times a lively voice with a slight Bavarian accent.

8:05 pm: I complete my measuring assignment and walk over to the huge Cologne cathedral adjacent to the station. Satellite trucks from German and foreign TV networks are interviewing people in front of the cathedral. I consider approaching the TV crews, but since I am wearing a baseball cap I think better of it.

8:30 pm: Dozens of ecstatic young people chant praise to the new pope. This year’s "World Youth Day", first started by Pope John Paul II, will be held in Cologne in mid-August. The young people chant the new pope’s latin name in syllables and follow it with rhythmic staccato applause: "Be-ne-dic-tus: clap clap, clap clap, clap, clap", as if they are cheering the local football team on to victory.

9:00 pm: As I drive back to Bonn, a radio station is broadcasting a discussion with a Catholic priest and a religious editor from a leading Cologne newspaper, answering questions of listeners who call in. A couple of listeners wonder whether the new pope will be reform-minded. The religious editor doubts this very much.

10:00 pm: Back at my apartment, I check the German news magazine "Spiegel" website. Only 4 hours after the selection of Benedict XVI, "Spiegel" says the new pope will be good for Germany. We will see.