Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to cast ballot in U.S. election

WASHINGTON >> Pope Leo XIV cast a ballot by mail in the U.S. midterm elections, the Vatican press office said today, a historic first for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

“In keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago,” the Vatican said. “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes.”

The Vatican did not say which candidates Leo had voted for.

Leo, 71, was born in Chicago and is the first American-born pope. The pope voted by mail under his birth name, Robert Francis Prevost, according to the Will County Clerk’s website.

President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Leo early in the new pope’s tenure, calling him “weak” and “terrible” on crime.

The pope said in March that God rejects the prayers of those who start wars and have “hands full of blood.”

In April, he termed Trump’s threat to destroy the Iranian civilization as unacceptable and previously declined to join the U.S. president’s so-called “Board of Peace” initiative for Gaza.

Leo has also urged a “deep reflection” on the way migrants are treated in the U.S.

Voters in the solidly Democratic state of Illinois will select a successor for retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and choose whether to re-elect Gov. JB Pritzker.

Leo was elected to lead the 1.4-billion-member Church by the world’s cardinals in May 2025.

The pope had the lower lobe of his right lung removed in surgery on Oct. 13 and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. Doctors say he will not need further therapy.

He is set to travel to South America next week.