President Trump has officially weighed in on the new Pope, and it’s safe to say he is excited.
As Jim Hoft reported earlier, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope on Thursday in a huge surprise, and took the name Pope Leo XIV. He is the first pontiff from the United States and the first from North America in the history of the Catholic Church.
Leo was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955, and comes from a family of French, Italian, and Spanish descent. He entered the Augustinian novitiate in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and both a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
While American, Leo has long-standing ties to Peru. His missionary work in Peru in 1985, where he served in various capacities, including chancellor of the Territorial Prelature of Chulucanas, director of formation, seminary teacher, and judicial vicar in Trujillo. In 1999, he was elected provincial prior of the Augustinian Province of Chicago. In 2001, he was elected Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, a position he held for two six-year terms.
In 2014, Pope Francis appointed Leo as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, and he was consecrated as its bishop later that year. He served as the bishop of Chiclayo until 2023. In January 2023, he was appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, positions that significantly raised his profile within the Church hierarchy.
Conventional wisdom suggested that the decision would likely come down to the current Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the leftist media’s darling, Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle. Prevost was not even listed on the betting website BetUS.
Prevost is considered a moderate within the church. While he shares the late Pope Francis’s liberal views on migration and the environment, he is considered conservative on other issues of Catholic Church doctrine. For example, he opposes women serving as deacons and rejects the gender ideology garbage pushed by the left.
Trump took to Truth Social to congratulate Pope Leo XIV on his election and called it “an honor.”
Trump added that Pope Leo XIV’s election was exciting and said he looked forward to meeting with him.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope,” Trump wrote, “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope.”
“What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,” he added. “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV.”
“It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Trump reiterated his comments a short time ago while speaking to reporters outside the White House.
WATCH:
President Trump on Pope Leo XIV: “To have the pope from the United States of America, that’s a great honor.” pic.twitter.com/0PzT89cpej
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 8, 2025
As TGP readers know, Trump previously joked about becoming the Pope himself.
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