President Donald Trump congratulated Robert Francis Prevost after he was elected Thursday as the first American-born pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Prevost, 69, of Chicago, will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,” the president wrote.
“I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Leo has not always had positive words for the U.S. president and his administration, however.
A verified X account linked to the new pope shared an article in February criticizing Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, over his interpretation of Jesus’ teachings.
“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” said the headline of the National Catholic Reporter article shared by Prevost’s account.
Source: Robert Prevost on X
Vance in an X post Thursday afternoon congratulated the new pope, writing, “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church.”
In April, the account reposted a different tweet criticizing Trump over his administration’s mass-deportation efforts.
“Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?” the tweet said, quoting a Catholic Standard article, “This Ordeal is the Passion,” by Bishop Evelio Menjivar.
Prevost was chosen on the second day of a papal conclave in Vatican City. The cardinals’ selection of a successor to Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88, was revealed by white smoke billowing from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel.
Days after returning from Francis’ funeral in Rome, Trump joked to reporters that he’d “like to be pope.”
Trump on Friday posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope, drawing criticism.
An AI-generated image of President Donald Trump in papal attire posted by Trump’s Truth Social account on May 2, 2025.
Courtesy: The White House via X, formerly Twitter
Former President Joe Biden wrote on X later Thursday, “Habemus papam – May God bless Pope Leo XIV of Illinois. Jill and I congratulate him and wish him success.” “Habemus papam” is a Latin phrase meaning “We have a pope,” which is used when the cardinals announce the election of a new pontiff.
Former President Barack Obama, who has lived and worked in Chicago, wrote on X, “Michelle and I send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.”
“This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith,” Obama wrote.