WASHINGTON (RNS) — When it was announced that Pope Leo XIV would be the first pope born in the United States, Catholics across the country were surprised, and many were elated. For years, Vatican watchers had dismissed the idea that Cardinals would elect a pope from the U.S., assuming the prelates would avoid entangling the Bishop of Rome with the politics of a superpower.
But a political question quickly emerged: Can a sitting pope vote in U.S. elections, and is he still a U.S. citizen?
The short answer: he can probably still vote, for now at least, and is likely still a citizen unless he takes action to change that.
The Chicago-born Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, has voted in past elections — he has cast ballots in both Democratic and Republican primaries in Illinois (where you do not have to register for a party), more often the latter. According to Matt Dietrich, spokesperson for the Illinois Board of Elections, Pope Leo voted last year.
“He’s still an active voter in Will County, Illinois, and he did cast a ballot in November 2024 — a vote by mail,” Dietrich said of Leo, who has lived in Rome for the past two years while serving in Vatican roles, most recently the head of the Dicastery for Bishops. Dietrich added that Leo, before he began voting in Will Count …