February 14, 2013. (Romereports.com)  This is Giovanna Chirri. She is the reporter who told the world about the Pope's resignation.  She was covering the meeting, when she heard the unexpected announcement. Her news agency, ANSA, posted one sentence on the story. Within minutes, the story ran like wildfire.


It was supposed to be a meeting with cardinals on future canonizations. Just a handful of reporters were there. Since she understands Latin, she knew right away what was happening.


GIOVANNA CHIRRI
Vaticanista, ANSA Agency
“When I heard the news, I got scared, I felt worried and my legs started shaking. I was sitting there, right in front of the computer and I knew I had to write it immediately.”

She not only heard the story, but she also got to see the reaction of all the cardinals who had no idea.

GIOVANNA CHIRRI
Vaticanista, ANSA Agency
“If you looked around and saw the people who were with the  Pope, so cardinals, bishops, members of the papal household, everyone was completely shocked, stunned, they didn't move a muscle. There was an intense silence.”

The Pope decided to announce his resignation in a short, to the point speech, in Latin. But Giovanna, who has covered the Vatican since 1994, actually understands Latin. It's a fact that was discussed quite a bit in social networking sites, but Giovanna, simply replied with a humble tweet, stating: “Benedict XVI is very easy to understand.”


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