Overview
- Pope Leo XIV told NBC that he thinks of himself “more as the Pope who happens to be American,” stressing his primary role as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church.
- The Pope made the comments during a brief interview on Wednesday evening after a prayer-for-peace event at Castel Gandolfo that featured Andrea Bocelli and children from around the world.
- He praised American principles of freedom and opportunity, recalled that his grandparents were immigrants, and said his mother’s family included both enslaved people and slave owners.
- In a separate Spanish interview with Telemundo the Pope urged migrants to have hope and to seek lawful, orderly ways to build a life.
- He said he hopes to visit the United States in the next couple of years but emphasized that no trip is scheduled, keeping Vatican–U.S. relations and earlier tensions with President Donald Trump as the broader political backdrop.