Home · Faith · Oct 30 archive
In another historic move, Pope Leo casts absentee US vote from Rome
Confirmed
In Short: Chicago native Pope Leo XIV has cast a mail-in ballot in the US midterm elections, marking the first time a Catholic pope has voted in a U.S. election.
Chicago native Pope Leo XIV has made history by casting a mail-in ballot in the upcoming US midterm elections, marking the first time a Catholic pope has voted in a U.S. election.
The Holy See confirmed the historic vote, stating, “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” in a statement released Friday.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Prevost, is registered as a Will County voter in New Lenox, Illinois, where his brother, John Prevost, lives.
The pope’s decision to vote was met with enthusiasm by local officials. Will County Clerk Fladhammer said, “It’s exciting.” The clerk’s office can track the ballot through its computer software, but Fladhammer and Parker said they may not be able to catch it the moment it is processed.
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich praised the pope’s civic engagement, saying, “He believes in the power of democracy,” and added that the pontiff’s participation in local elections shows “his affection for the place he grew up in and that formed him.”
The pope’s voting decision aligns with his broader political views. He has criticized an Illinois law permitting doctors to prescribe medication to allow terminally ill people to end their own lives, calling medical aid in dying a “false compassion.”
Pope Leo XIV has also spoken out against the death penalty, stating, “Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion’ but says ‘I am in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life.”
What this adds
Pope Leo XIV’s decision to vote in the US midterm elections is unprecedented in the history of the Catholic Church, underscoring his commitment to democratic processes and civic engagement.
Background
Pope Leo XIV visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido on Sunday, marking his first parish visit in the Diocese of Rome during his pontificate.
Speaking to journalists on the flight to Algiers, Pope Leo XIV revealed that his trip to Africa was meant to be the first trip of his pontificate.
What's confirmed
- “The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the Holy See said in a statement.
- “Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen whenever he was eligible to do so,” the Vatican press office said in a statement.
What's still developing
- “I’m happy he is participating in the voting process just as every eligible person should,” Parker said.
- Leo has repeatedly “called for ‘a better kind of politics,’” said White, author of the book “Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy,” published by Loyola Press in Chicago.
- “Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death,” he once said.
- If a staff member recognizes the pope’s name as they go through the mail-in ballots, those in the room might want to touch it to receive a blessing, Parker added.
- The most anticipated return: Leo XIV returns today to the embrace of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano The Pope makes a pilgrimage this September 7 to the historic Marian shrine, on an official trip that rekindles the deep devotion that marked his first steps after his election Today, September 7, on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Pope Leo XIV is making one of the most significant Marian appearances of his pontificate by returning to the Basilica-Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano.
- Archbishop John Wester urged the faithful to develop an “appreciation for the gift of water” amid major ecological challenges in the region.
- Archbishop Laurent Ulrich said the Mass would be a “historic celebration”.
- In a deeply emotional moment, Cardinal Ernest Simoni—often called a “living martyr of communism”—presented Pope Leo XIV with a relic of Albanian martyrs who suffered persecution under a brutal regime.
- “May Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace,” he said, speaking in front of a giant globe.
- Pope Leo XIV called on France to defend human dignity, promote peace and protect the common good as he began his four-day apostolic journey to the country on September 25.
- Pope Leo XIV issued the decree granting Sheen the title of Blessed, while Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, serving as the Pope’s legate and principal celebrant, read the apostolic letter during the beatification Mass.