President Donald Trump spoke warmly Thursday of the American-born missionary named the new pope.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” he posted on Truth Social. “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. He took the name Leo XIV.
Prevost had to overcome the taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere.
Trump spoke to reporters outside the West Wing, saying that for the new pope to be American, “What greater honor can there be?”
“We’re a little bit surprised and we’re happy,” Trump added.
