By BY WASHINGTON POST| President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance congratulated Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, for being elected to the papacy Thursday and becoming the first American to lead the Catholic Church.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Thursday, Trump called the election of an American pope “a great honor,” adding that he was “a little bit surprised” by the selection of Chicago-born Prevost “but very happy.” In a congratulatory post on Truth Social, the president also said he looks forward to meeting with Leo, adding, “It will be a very meaningful moment!”
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Vance, who converted to Catholicism six years ago and is the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, sent well wishes to the new pope in a social media post, writing: “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”
Last month, Vance met with Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, the day before he died. The visit came despite public disagreements between Vance and Francis, who clashed over U.S. immigration policies and other Catholic doctrine.
In January, Vance argued that Catholics have a greater moral obligation to help those closer to them than “to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away.” Without naming Vance, Francis responded in a letter to American bishops, highlighting the Christian duty to show compassion to migrants. Vance subsequently offered something of a mea culpa, admitting that he was “a baby Catholic” while speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.
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Former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama also offered their congratulations to the new pope.
“May God bless Pope Leo XIV of Illinois,” Biden, a Catholic, wrote on X. “Jill and I congratulate him and wish him success.”
Obama celebrated their shared roots, writing 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,” he added.
