Donald Trump posted congratulations on his Truth Social network for the new pope of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American pontiff in history who adopted the name Leo XIV for his papacy.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has just been appointed Pope. It is a great honor to know that he is the first American Pope. What an exciting and great honor for our country!” expressed the President of the United States.
Trump also admitted to being eager to meet the new pope. “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very significant moment!” he concluded.
Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955 and also studied a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences from Villanova University and obtained a Master’s degree in Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, before traveling to join the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985.
Critical reposts of Prevost about Trump’s policies
Before the Conclave, out of the 10 American cardinals, the President of the United States only supported Timothy Dolan from New York: “I don’t know, I don’t have a preference, but I must say there is a cardinal from a place called New York who is very good,” said Trump in late April during a conversation with journalists.
He also mentioned that he would like to be a pope and a few days later he uploaded a photo, apparently generated by artificial intelligence, dressed as a pontiff.
Prevost apparently was not among Trump’s favorites because through his X network account @drprevost, the new pope Leo XIV used to repost information and opinions contrary to the anti-immigrant policies (especially Latino migrants) of the Donald Trump government.
One of their latest publications was an article about Pope Francis’ letter to the bishops of the United States criticizing Trump’s measures, and another one about an editorial titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”.
Years before, in 2017, after the signing of an executive order by Donald Trump that temporarily suspended the refugee resettlement program in the United States and specifically banned the entry of Syrian citizens, Robert Prevost shared a critical message on social media that said “Are we banning all Syrian refugees? Men, women, and children who need help the most? What an immoral nation we are becoming. Jesus weeps.”
Shortly after, he retweeted an opinion article that argued that the measure promoted by Trump represented that the United States was “abandoning” its “commitment to American values.”