Canada’s Marc Ouellet, who is a top five contender to become the next pope according to betting odds, hails from a tiny village in Quebec called La Motte with a population of 457.
The village may only have one gas station, one intersection and one school, but this week the small municipality is getting a huge amount of attention.
Residents say the village is buzzing with the prospect of one of their own becoming head of the Catholic church. One couple in town has even written a song that croons “are we going to get a pope?”
Most residents of La Motte are in awe of their newfound attention and are having trouble believing a man born and baptized in their town is a papal front-runner.
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The news has caused an influx of media to visit the town, which doesn’t have a restaurant or inn.
The basement of an old church, which now houses a community centre, will be turned into a media centre next week as Canada watches to see if Ouellet will become pope. The parking lot will be expanded and a caterer will be brought in to welcome hundreds of journalists.
The cell phone provider of the town is even setting up a new tower over worries the system could crash.
While some residents say they’re proud of Ouellet, many worry their small town may become swarmed with visitors.
The hometowns of the last two popes get hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.
The mayor says he’s already getting calls from companies offering to make papal souvenirs, but he’s mostly worrying about tour guides who may try to corral tourists through the town and invade the privacy of residents.
In La Motte, there aren’t too many Ouellet landmarks to visit. His family home has been demolished, as has the school house he attended, which was run by his father.
Most of Ouellet’s family, including his 90-year-old mother, live in several homes along the shores of Lake La Motte, but the homes are at the end of a private road and the family declined an interview.
The mayor says they have been bothered a lot and hardly have a private life – and it’s about to get worse. With the conclave set to begin Tuesday, the lives of the Ouellets and all residents of La Motte will be under the spotlight.
With files from Mike Armstrong
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