( CNN ) -- How do you say `` scoop '' in Latin ? It 's a good bet that Giovanna Chirri -- the journalist who broke the story of the pope 's resignation -- can tell you . Chirri 's knowledge of Latin gave her the edge to understand the magnitude of the pope 's announcement . A reporter for ANSA , Italy 's state-run news agency , Chirri was among a few reporters at what appeared to be a routine papal announcement Monday . Most media outlets chose not to cover the event , which began with 20 minutes of announcements concerning other church matters , ANSA reported . But then , in Latin , Pope Benedict XVI said he would resign at the end of the month `` because of advanced age . '' The news would surprise the world 's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics , but someone had to inform them first . Chirri has `` polished '' Latin skills , her employer said , but it took confidence to trust that she heard what she thought she heard . The pope 's resignation , explained . `` ( The news of ) his resignation did n't seem real to me , '' she told ANSA . `` I told myself 'you misunderstood . ' '' The pope 's Latin is `` very easy to understand , '' Chirri said , but it was n't until the announcement was repeated that the reporter filed an urgent bulletin for ANSA , which was subsequently picked up by the rest of the world . A devout Catholic , Chirri told ANSA she tries to keep her faith separate from her work covering the Vatican , but Monday 's announcement made her cry because she was upset . `` I fought to keep my nerve despite my knees feeling weak , '' she told the news agency . While Catholic services today are celebrated in local languages , Latin remains the official language of the Roman Catholic church . For this reason , all official acts of the church are announced in Latin , as was the case Monday .
Italian news agency reporter Giovanna Chirri broke the pope resignation story . Her knowledge of Latin gave her the edge to get the scoop . The news had her `` knees feeling weak ''