On a flight toward South America, Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago and holds Peruvian citizenship as well, spoke of his pride in having cast a mail-in ballot in the American midterms, a quiet act that sat uneasily between his role as spiritual leader of a foreign state and his duties as a citizen. Having taken the name Leo and the weight of St. Peter's succession, he declined to pass judgment on the outcome, leaving the civic meaning of the vote to those who cast their ballots in the wider public square. Three weeks after surgery for lung cancer, he set out on a twelve-day journey to Urug
Pope Leo XIV Says He Is 'Proud to Be an American' After Voting in U.S. Midterms
"Proud to be an American and to exercise the right."
Mark
Why did a pope's mail-in ballot become news at all?
Mimi
Because he's two things at once. He's a U.S. citizen registered in Chicago as Robert Prevost, and he's head of the Holy See, a foreign state. The Vatican said on Oct. 30 that he votes whenever eligible, as a matter of civic participation.
Luke
And worth noting what he didn't say. He declined to comment on the results. The pride he expressed was about voting, not about who won.
Mark
Did the Peru detail matter?
Mimi
It showed consistency. He voted in Peru when he lived there, and said he'd have voted in Peru's recent election if absentee ballots were possible. They aren't.
Luke
Right, though that's his own account of why he didn't vote there. The reporting doesn't independently check it.
Mark
He joked about being 'the pope' versus 'Prevost' with the Villanova and Notre Dame players.
Mimi
Yes, it's the same move. He separates the roles when a matter is delicate.
Mark
And the health side of this?
Mimi
He had a lung tumor removed three weeks ago, adenocarcinoma, and doctors said no further treatment was needed. Now he's on a 12-day trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Luke
The 'fairly good shape' assessment is his own, alongside the doctors' clearance to travel. How he holds up over 12 days is still unknown.
Il Polso
- A pope who is also a registered American voter has stirred debate about where faith's authority ends and citizenship's obligations begin.
- Leo would not say what he thought of the midterm result that handed Congress to Democrats, leaving the political reading of his vote hanging in the air.
- Only three weeks removed from lung surgery, he pressed ahead with a twelve-day tour across three nations, refusing to let doubts about his health cancel the trip.
- His message for the journey is firm: healthcare is a right for all people, and he means to carry that conviction from Montevideo to Lima.
On a flight toward South America, Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago and holds Peruvian citizenship as well, spoke of his pride in having cast a mail-in ballot in the American midterms, a quiet act that sat uneasily between his role as spiritual leader of a foreign state and his duties as a citizen. Having taken the name Leo and the weight of St. Peter's succession, he declined to pass judgment on the outcome, leaving the civic meaning of the vote to those who cast their ballots in the wider public square. Three weeks after surgery for lung cancer, he set out on a twelve-day journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, carrying a conviction that healthcare is a right owed to everyone.
Aboard the papal plane bound for South America, Pope Leo XIV stepped to the back of the cabin to speak with reporters, and the first question was about the ballot he had cast from afar. He said he was proud to be an American and to exercise the right to vote in the U.S. midterms, which had just given Democrats control of Congress in a rebuke of President Donald Trump. He would not say what he made of the result. He pointed instead to a Vatican statement from October 30, which confirmed that he had filed a mail-in ballot in Chicago, his hometown, as an expression of his belief that citizens have both the right and the duty to take part in democracy.
Leo also holds Peruvian citizenship, and on Friday he admitted he could not vote in Peru's recent election because absentee ballots are not possible there. "But I would have done it," he said. The ballot has drawn debate, since he leads a foreign state and took the name Leo XIV when he was elected in May 2025, while his voter registration still reads Robert Prevost. He moves between those identities easily. Days earlier he had welcomed basketball players from Villanova, his alma mater, and from Notre Dame, joking that the pope takes no sides but Prevost is a Villanovan.
The trip is his first major journey since surgery. Doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung after finding an early adenocarcinoma, a nodule discovered in a routine exam. He is 71, and the operation came just three weeks before the flight. Some had doubted he would travel, but he said he never did. "From the first day, I had no doubt," he told reporters, crediting God, skilled surgeons and a healthy life, and calling regular checkups a blessing. He has not yet returned to tennis: "Not yet, but I will."
The illness, he said, deepened his wish to stay close to the sick and strengthened his conviction that healthcare should be a right for all people. That message will travel with him through Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Aboard the papal plane on Friday, headed for South America, Pope Leo XIV walked to the back of the aircraft to greet reporters and was asked about the vote he had cast from afar. His answer was short. He was, he said, "proud to be an American and to exercise the right" to vote in the U.S. midterm elections, which handed control of Congress to the Democrats in a rebuke of President Donald Trump and his policies.
He would not say what he made of the result. Pressed on the matter, Leo pointed the journalists to a statement the Vatican released on Oct. 30, which confirmed that he had submitted a mail-in ballot in his hometown of Chicago. That statement said he had voted whenever he was eligible, and described this as an expression of his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to take part in democratic processes.
The statement also noted that Leo holds Peruvian citizenship and used his vote while living in Peru. On Friday he said he had not been able to vote in Peru's recent election, because absentee ballots are not possible there. "But I would have done it. It's a good thing," he said.
The ballot drew some debate. Leo leads a foreign state, the Holy See, and took a new name, Pope Leo XIV, the 266th successor to St. Peter, when he was elected on May 8, 2025. U.S. federal law lets American citizens keep their citizenship even if they work for foreign governments. But in the eyes of the Church he is Leo, while the name on his voter registration is Robert Prevost.
The pope has shown he can move between those identities when the moment calls for it. Last weekend he hosted basketball players from Villanova University, his alma mater, and from rival Notre Dame. Leo joked that "the pope" does not take sides, but that "Prevost" was a Villanovan.
The flight was also his first major trip since surgery. It was bound for Montevideo, Uruguay, the first stop on a 12-day, three-nation tour that will also take him to Argentina and Peru. It comes just three weeks after the 71-year-old underwent an operation to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung. He disclosed on Oct. 11 that he had a lung nodule and had the surgery two days later. Doctors confirmed adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer, and removed the lower lobe of the lung. After further tests, they said he needed no additional treatment and could travel. The nodule was found in a routine exam sometime between his Sept. 25-28 trip to France and the Oct. 11 announcement.
"I'm very happy to be here myself," he told reporters. Asked whether he felt as good as he looked, he said: "Maybe better." He acknowledged that some people had doubted he would make the trip, but said he never did. "I confess that from the first day, I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward," he said. He credited God, good doctors and surgeons, and a healthy lifestyle for his recovery, and said that regular checkups are a blessing because early detection is the best course. He has not yet been able to play tennis. "Not yet, but I will," he said.
Leo said the diagnosis left him with a desire to stay close to the sick, and with a conviction that healthcare should be a right for all people. He is expected to stress that message over the course of the trip.
Citazioni salienti
I'm proud to be an American and to exercise the right.— Pope Leo XIV, aboard the papal plane
I confess that from the first day, I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward.— Pope Leo XIV, on his post-surgery travel
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Politics & Governance