Pope Leo XIV presided over his first Mass as leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics on Friday, pledging to align himself with “ordinary people” and against the rich and powerful, and calling for missionary outreach to help heal the “wounds that afflict our society.”
The election of Leo, the first pope born in the United States, represents a singular moment in the history of the American church. But some of the cardinals who elected him said his life of service to the poor in Peru and to the church in senior roles at the Vatican mattered far more in the conclave than his nationality.
“It matters a lot that we have a pope and a spiritual leader whose heart is for migrants,” Cardinal Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of the Philippines said at a news conference. “And I think he will sustain the direction of Pope Francis.”
The morning after his surprise election, Leo returned to the Sistine Chapel to say his first Mass as pope. Evoking the teachings of Francis, his predecessor, he delivered a homily rich in theological references and said that a loss of religious faith had contributed to “appalling violations of human dignity” around the world.
He will soon confront urgent questions about the church’s direction. Addressing a crowd from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, he spoke of “building bridges” but gave little overt indication of how he would govern the church.
Here’s what we’re covering:
Who is Pope Leo XIV? Despite his American roots, Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, transcends borders. He served for two decades in Peru, where he became a bishop and a naturalized citizen, and then was appointed to one of the most influential posts at the Vatican by Francis, who made him a cardinal in 2023. Read more ›
Why Leo? A new pope’s choice of his papal name is always cloaked in symbolism. In Pope Leo’s case, it may also have been a clear and deliberate reference to the last Leo, who led during a difficult time for the Roman Catholic Church and helped usher it into the modern world. Read more ›
Papal path: While the selection of an American pope was a shock to some, many other parts of Leo XIV’s background make his election less surprising. For the past two years, he led the Vatican office that selects and oversees the more than 5,000 Roman Catholic bishops around the world, giving him Vatican connections and an important say in the church’s direction. Read more ›
An Augustinian pope: The new pope has spent most of his life as a friar in the Order of St. Augustine. Experts said that a commitment to two elements of Augustinian teaching — missionary outreach and listening widely before taking decisions — could shape his approach to the papacy. Read more ›
Crowds watch Pope Leo XIV on a teleprompter on Thursday.Credit...Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times
Pope Leo is a lifelong American citizen. But as Pope, he is also the leader of Vatican City, an internationally recognized sovereign nation. Can an American citizen lead a foreign nation? And can a Pope retain foreign citizenship?
The answers are yes and yes — but it rarely happens.
United States law allows dual citizenship. According to the State Department, a dual citizen who became a foreign head of state would not necessarily lose American citizenship if he or she wanted to keep it.
And the Holy See lets a Pope retain other citizenships. Pope Francis retained his Argentine nationality and even renewed his Argentine passport in 2017. His two predecessors also retained their native citizenship.
The State Department explains on its website that it will “actively review” cases of foreign heads of state wishing to retain American citizenship, while warning that such cases “raise complex questions of international law,” including ones related to immunity from American legal jurisdiction.
Foreign leaders who want to retain American nationality can notify the State Department of their preference, the department says, while a person who wants to give up citizenship must inform a U.S. embassy or consulate ”and follow the required steps.”
In rare cases, U.S. citizens have served as foreign heads of state. Somalia’s former president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, was born in Somalia but lived in the United States and became a naturalized American citizen before his 2017 election. He renounced his American citizenship two years later, amid charges of dual loyalties.
Vatican City, where the Pope resides, is governed by the Holy See, which is considered a sovereign government. It is recognized by the United Nations, although it chooses to hold permanent observer status there rather than full member status, “due primarily to the desire of the Holy See to maintain absolute neutrality in specific political problems,” the Holy See’s mission to the U.N. says on its website.
Pope Leo is also a citizen of Peru, which allows dual citizenship, though it is unclear whether it has laws applicable to a citizen becoming a foreign head of state.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Pope Leo’s circumstances, and the Vatican has not publicly indicated his plans.
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