Like many people around the world, sophomore Sarah Kidd has had her eyes locked to her television set most mornings, soaking in news regarding the election of the Catholic Church’s new pope.

“Maybe I won’t see this happen again (for a while), but I probably will because (popes) are so old to begin with,” she said.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, of Germany was elected to be the church’s new leader on Tuesday. He took on the name Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI will replace Pope John Paul II, who died April 2 at age 84.

Father George R. Szews of the Newman Roman Catholic Community, 110 Garfield Ave., said the election of the new pontiff has been more visible to Catholics probably because John Paul II was a very visible pope.

“He is the person who raised the papacy to a kind of star quality,” he said.

Part of this rise in exposure is probably due to increased global communication, he said.

“Now, because of the internet and mass media, (the pope) can get out to the world stage,” he said. Prior to John Paul II, the pope was not a figure seen in the day-to-day life of Catholics, he said.

The media attention surrounding John Paul II’s death and the election of Benedict XVI has caught the attention of many non-Catholics, such as freshman Robert Schwartz.

“I just see it on the news every once in a while, and (we talk) about it in my sociology class a lot,” he said.

“I’m not Catholic … I guess I haven’t paid much attention to it on a religious basis. Catholics pay a lot more attention to it or care about it more than I would. It means a lot to them.”

Senior Catholic student Andrea Kramer said she also has seen non-Catholic friends paying close attention to the grieving process for John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI.

“I think that the pope has become a political figure, especially with John Paul because he reached out to so many people,” Kramer said.

While freshman Dan Schauer hesitated to call Pope Benedict XVI more conservative than his predecessor, he said the new pope will focus more on enforcing doctrine than spreading Catholicism.

“I think the Catholic Church will become more vocal in how it expresses the views it always had,” he said.

The new pope is the oldest elected pope since Clement XII, who was selected in 1730. He is also the first pope to come from Germany in almost 1,000 years. The last Germanic pope was elected in the 11th century.

Benedict XVI previously served John Paul as leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In that role, he has punished church dissidents and supported church policy against reform attempts by liberals.

“Fundamentally there can’t be any change in direction,” Father Szews said.

Father Szews also said Benedict XVI has said he has plans to continue to go forward with John Paul II’s Vatican II reforms. Vatican II was a broad modernizing effort on the part of the Catholic Church.

Kramer said she believes the ability to modernize is very important for the Catholic Church at this time.

“I think that if the pope becomes more traditionalistic, it will decrease the prevalence of Catholicism,” she said. “You have to be open to changing times.”

Pope Benedict XVI will be formally installed as pope on Sunday.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.