President Donald Trump congratulated Robert Francis Prevost after his election as pope Thursday, making him the first American-born pontiff 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,” read the headline of the 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 re-posted another 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 read, quoting Bishop Evelio Menjivar in an article for the Catholic Standard titled, “This Ordeal is the Passion.”
Prevost was chosen on the second day of a papal conclave in Vatican City. The cardinals’ selection of the successor to Pope Francis, who died on 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 later posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope, drawing criticism.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth post in papal attire.
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.”
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.
Read More: Trump says it is ‘such an honor’ that Vatican elected first U.S. pope
