Pope Leo XIV is preparing to hold a private audience with basketball teams from his alma mater, Villanova, and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame, plus thousands of traveling American fans
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is set to hold a private audience on Saturday with basketball teams from his alma mater, Villanova, and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame, plus thousands of traveling American fans in town for the season opener.A total of about 7,000 people are expected Saturday in the Paul VI audience hall inside the Vatican.
Will Pope Leo be in attendance for Sunday's Villanova-Notre Dame college basketball doubleheader in Rome? Here's what we know.
Vatican confirms the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November 3 midterm elections
The Vatican said Pope Leo exercised his right as a U.S. citizen, submitting a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of the midterm elections next week.
Pope Leo may be the first pope to vote in a national election, Vatican experts said.
Pope Leo XIV voted in the 2026 Illinois midterm elections using a mail-in ballot, the Vatican confirmed Friday, becoming the first sitting pope known to vote in an American election. Why it matters: The pontiff, an American citizen, may be the first to vote in any secular democratic election. Joliet radio station WJOL first reported Oct. 23 that Leo had requested a mail-in ballot. What they're saying: The pope believes "in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Holy See Press Office said in a statement . The Vatican said Leo "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so" and that "in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago." Pope Leo also voted whenever eligible during his years living in Peru, the Vatican's statement said. Zoom in: The pope's ballot includes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker 's reelection bid, the race to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin and a House contest between Democratic Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Republican Christian Maxwell. Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, won his district handily in 2024. The pontiff's ballot will have to travel from Vatican city to Joliet, Illinois. Worth noting : Leo has voted in both Democratic and Republican primaries in the last two decades. Leo requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010 when he lived in heavily blue Cook County, per the AP. He then started voting in GOP primaries in subsequent elections when he moved to the more conservative Will County, where he is currently registered to vote. He's also voted as an undeclared voter off and on in recent elections, according to the Will County clerk's office. His party affiliation is currently undeclared. Zoom out: The pope, who has been recovering from lung cancer surgery , met with Chicago-area advocates Wednesday who are supporting immigrants at an ICE facility in Broadview , Illinois. He's also
It’s unclear who he voted for
Leo XIV has become the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election, casting a mail-in ballot in a contest that will decide America's future as the Trump era slowly comes to an end.
As a US citizen, Pope Leo XIV is eligible to vote in US elections and has made use of that right with a postal ballot ahead of Tuesday's midterms. The pontiff, a Chicago native, did not reveal who he voted for.
"He’s an American citizen living abroad. He didn’t lose his voting rights when he moved to the Vatican," an expert said.
Pope Leo XIV has become the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election.
The Chicago-born pontiff, who has a tense relationship with Trump, mailed in a ballot for the midterm elections that will decide control of the US Congress.
Pope Leo XIV requested a mail ballot from Vatican City to vote in Illinois' midterm elections, potentially the first pope to vote in a U.S. election.
Pope Leo XIV has cast his ballot in the U.S. midterm elections while expressing his “belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the Holy See Press Office announced Friday. The post Vatican Confirms Pope Leo ‘Exercised His Right to Vote’ in U.S. Midterms; Pope Affirms ‘Duty of Citizens to Participate in Democratic Processes’ appeared first on Breitbart .
Pope Leo XIV has become the first pope in history to vote in a U.S. general election
An evacuation mission was underway in a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine, during a truce brokered by first lady Melania Trump and with Pope Leo XIV’s involvement.
Pope Leo XIV has cast his ballot in the 2026 midterm elections, making history as the first sitting pontiff to vote in a U.S. general election while drawing renewed attention to a series of consequential contests in his home state of Illinois. The Vatican confirmed Friday that the Chicago-born pope, who remains a U.S. citizen, ...
It’s not clear whether Leo, who has been critical of the Trump administration, has mailed off his ballot yet.
Pope Leo XIV may not only be the first American to lead the Catholic Church, but he may also be the first American to lead the Catholic Church who votes in an American election. The post Report: Pope Leo XIV Requested a Mail-In Ballot for the Illinois Midterm Elections appeared first on Breitbart .
Bill Raftery is gearing up for his first college basketball broadcast of the season, and it’s a special one
Villanova University is deepening its ties to the Vatican, thanks to its famous alumnus, Pope Leo, and will open its basketball seasons there Halloween weekend.
Pope Leo XIV has thanked the faithful in St. Peter’s Square for their prayers after his hospitalization for lung surgery
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, has been diagnosed with lung cancer after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung, according to the Vatican. Chris Livesay reports and Dr. David Jones, chief of thoracic surgery at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, has medical analysis.
The case of Pope Leo shows how small lung nodules are often found during routine health checks. Quick treatment is generally advised before nodules can grow to become larger life-threatening masses.
Pope Leo XIV, 71, said he will have surgery this week to remove a nodule in his lung. Chris Livesay has the latest in Rome.
