Pope Leo XIV becomes first head of Catholic Church to vote in US election

Pope Leo XIV, the first United States citizen to lead the Roman Catholic Church, has voted in the 2026 midterm elections by absentee ballot.

The Holy See Press Office issued a statement on Friday confirming that Leo XIV became the first pontiff in Catholic Church history to vote in an American election.

“Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” said the press office, adding that “in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.”

“The Holy Father has also confirmed that, during his years of residence in Peru he exercised his right to vote whenever he was eligible to do so," the statement added. "The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes."

Born Robert Prevost in Chicago, the pontiff was elected pope last year shortly after the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff.

Before becoming a cardinal and later pope, the 71-year-old Prevost served as an American missionary in Peru. He also holds Peruvian citizenship.

Leo XIV has had public differences with President Donald Trump, who has taken issue with the pontiff’s opposition to the Iran war.

In a Truth Social post from April, Trump said the pope was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” then said he preferred the pontiff’s brother Louis, a staunch Trump supporter.

Leo XIV responded, “I have no fear of either the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”

“And that’s what I believe I am called to do and what the Church is called to do. We’re not politicians. We’re not looking to make foreign policy, as he calls it, with the same perspective that he might understand it,” he told NBC News. “I do not look at my role as being political. I don’t want to get into a debate with him.”

Earlier this month, the Holy See issued a statement announcing that Leo XIV had undergone minimally invasive surgery on his right lung and was diagnosed with lung cancer.

“The intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected by the pre-operative tests,” said the press office. “The Holy Father was in the operating theatre for approximately three hours; the operation itself lasted about ninety minutes. The operation was successful and there were no complications.”

“Following the operation, the Pope woke up normally and, after a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the tenth floor.”