The unlikely story of the election of the first American pope

By Christopher Lamb, CNN

(CNN) — On Saturday May 3, 2025, one week after the funeral of Pope Francis, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in the white cassock and miter of a pope. The image appeared on his Truth Social platform and was re-shared by the White House’s official X account. Within seconds it had gone viral. A few days earlier, when asked by reporters who he would like to see elected as Francis’s successor, the president had quipped, “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice.”

The reaction from Catholics around the world varied from disquiet to outrage. The AI image, as is so often the case with Trump’s posts, was both tongue-in-cheek and provocative. For Catholics, it was, at the very least, disre-spectful. Nor did the image go unnoticed by the cardinals who had started gathering in Rome ahead of the conclave set for May 7 – the election process that would decide the new pontiff. Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David – an outspoken Filipino prelate who had received death threats when he had criticized President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drug war – replied to Trump on Facebook saying, “Not funny, sir,” which he translated into ten different languages. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who was known to be friendly with Trump, said the image “wasn’t good,” but when asked by Reuters if an apology was needed, replied, “Who knows?”

Trump’s post only seemed to intensify the media interest in the papal election proceedings. More than 4,000 reporters were descending on the Vatican to cover the event and the cardinals found themselves mobbed as they walked to meetings. The public’s interest, too, was unusually high because of the popularity of the 2024 movie “Conclave,” a thriller that depicted the worldly ambitions of men in vying to become pope.

During his pontificate, Francis had shaken up the College of Cardinals – the body that would appoint his successor. He had made its membership more international and diverse to reflect the fact that the Church was changing. For years its axis had been shifting away from Europe and the West to encompass the growing numbers of Catholics in Africa and Asia… The conventional wisdom had always been that the cardinals would not choose an American pope. Given the enormous power of the United States politically, culturally, and economically, the cardinals were unlikely to elect a pope from that country. But something had changed since the election and re-election of Trump on an America First agenda. There was a distinct sense that the role of the US in the world was shifting.

A few days before the conclave started, I interviewed Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the retired archbishop of Bombay and a hugely respected figure across the Church in Asia. Could there be an American pope, I asked? In the past, he said, this was “unthinkable.” But then he paused and said, “There could be an American pope… why not?”

There was in fact an American name on my shortlist of “papabili,” someone who could become pope: Cardinal Robert Prevost. I knew him as the leader of the Vatican’s powerful office for the department for bishops, which played a crucial role in appointing bishops and in holding them to account. And I had recently been hearing his name mentioned…

I had met Prevost on one occasion in Rome. He had struck me as thoughtful and a good listener. A low-key figure who didn’t give interviews, someone who seemed at peace with himself. And, intriguingly, although he had been born in Chicago, he had spent decades of his life working as a missionary and bishop in Peru. He was, you could say, “an un-American American.”

As the cardinals prepared to enter the conclave in early May, the fierce criticisms some of them had had of Francis melted away. The focus now was on how the next pope could continue his predecessor’s reforms and, crucially, exhibit a prophetic spirit which engaged with the world.

Alongside their discussions, the cardinals had also been meeting privately for dinners in the restaurants of the Borgo Pio medieval quarter near the Vatican and at one another’s apartments and residences in Rome. Any cardinal perceived to be campaigning overtly on his own behalf was immediately disqualified so the politics were subtle. Alongside the papal candidates, papabili, there was a group of influential and well-connected cardinals know as “kingmakers” who sought to bring different electors together and canvass support. The “kingmakers,” I was told, were not afraid to speak frankly when asked their opinion on candidates.

At this point, the result of the election was anyone’s guess, but there were known frontrunners, among them Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was the Holy See Secretary of State and an experienced Church diplomat from Veneto, northern Italy. Parolin appeared to be the leading “unity” candidate: he would not row back on Francis’s main reforms but might cautiously reorder priorities. For the “diversity” group, there was the charismatic Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, who ran the Vatican’s evangelization office. He would represent strong continuity with the Francis agenda.

Behind the scenes, however, Prevost had been quietly gathering support.

An election that bucked history

Cardinal Francis George, a former archbishop of Chicago, famously expressed skepticism about the possibility of an American pope. George was a highly influential, politically astute prelate who died almost a decade before Leo XIV’s election. A pope from the United States was unlikely, he argued, while the US continued to be the world’s dominant power. “Look, until America goes into political decline, there won’t be an American pope,” he was reported to have said.

The notion that no cardinal from the US could ever be elected pope was ingrained into Church thinking, particularly in the Vatican. Just before the conclave, Robert Prevost had found a moment to drop a line to a friend. “I am sleeping well,” he wrote, “relying on the belief that there will never be an American pope.”

In fact, this notion had existed even before America became a great power. It was the new pope’s namesake, Leo XIII, who in 1899 denounced what he saw as the errors of “Americanism.” He had resisted what he saw as American particularism, and worried that America’s focus on individual liberty was undermining respect for Church authority.

That the next pope to call himself Leo would come from the US is a remarkable historical turnaround.

Leo has adopted a style that is different from that of Pope Francis. It is certainly more low-key. Yet beneath what might seem a meek exterior lies a steely determination. Leo is a lion who knows when to roar, and the moment he decides something, it’s final. Unlike the politicians who are full of bluff and bluster and can see no further than the next election, Leo is charting a course for the long term.

Underlying tensions in Trump era

The first American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history did not provoke a flurry of diplomatic activity from the White House. President Donald Trump told reporters afterward that “we were a little bit surprised and very happy” about the election of the first American pope. He described the news as a “great honor for our country,” saying that he looked forward to meeting Leo in what would be “a very meaningful moment.”

Yet the President of the United States had no direct contact with the first American pontiff in the aftermath of Leo’s election, nor in the early months of his papacy. Speaking at the end of July, Leo confessed that he had “not had direct conversations or met with the president,” although he was not overly concerned about this. Trump’s own position toward the pope seemed to be one of respectful ambivalence.

While Trump talked about a possible meeting with Leo a couple of months later, he said he had nothing planned and seemed in no rush to make it happen. By contrast, his predecessor, Joe Biden, who was only the second Catholic president after President John F. Kennedy, spoke with Pope Francis on several occasions during his term, including after Biden took office in 2020. In October 2021, they had a 75-minute meeting in the Vatican.

Biden, in one of his final acts as president, awarded Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction. The Biden–Francis relationship, while not without disagreements on abortion and the war in Gaza, was marked by warmth and mutual respect.

While Trump talks respectfully about Pope Leo, signs of the underlying tensions are not hard to spot. Steve Bannon, a Catholic and an outspoken ally of Trump, described Leo’s election as the “worst pick ever.”

Family politics

The pope, like many in the United States, has first-hand knowledge of how political divides can affect families. Disagreements over which way people voted cause heated conversations at the dinner table, and in some cases lead to feuds and family break-ups. The pope has two older brothers. His eldest sibling, Louis Prevost, is a MAGA supporter who has posted some inflammatory pro-Trump social media content in which, for example, he attacked former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. One Church source told me that Louis’ wife, Deborah, is also a MAGA supporter.

After his brother’s election as pope, Louis conceded that he would probably “tone it down,” and he has removed some posts and made his accounts private. But the Trump White House was quick to spot an opportunity. Louis and Deborah were invited to visit and were welcomed by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

“I really like his brother,” Trump said of the pope. “His brother is a major, serious Trumper. You know that? He’s MAGA all the way.” Leo responded to these comments by saying simply, “That’s fine,” adding that Louis had been “very outspoken about his political viewpoints.” Trump has had more direct contact with Leo’s brother – a MAGA supporter – than with the pope himself, who is not. Actions speak louder than words.

But the pope, even in his own family, proves that it is possible to disagree and stay united. He shows that political differences don’t need to affect family harmony. After Leo’s inauguration on May 18, Louis Prevost stepped forward to greet his brother in St. Peter’s Basilica. The pair hugged each other tightly.

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