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United States President Donald Trump has invited Pope Leo XIV to visit the White House, with Vice President JD Vance on Monday handing over a letter from Trump to the first American pontiff.
“The vice president passed along a letter to the pope from the president and from the First Lady,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding Trump hoped the visit would happen as soon as possible.
Vice President Vance will lead a U.S. delegation to Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass in Vatican City on Sunday, his office announced Thursday.
Read Also: American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost Elected As New Pope
Why it matters: Leo is the first American pope, who took over the papacy at a time of deep political divide in his home country. Notably, some of his views appear to conflict with the administration’s policies, particularly on migrants’ rights.
The Catholic Church has a new leader. Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American-born cleric and seasoned Vatican official, has been elected Pope, taking the name Leo XIV.
The announcement was made from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday following the traditional white smoke signaling the successful conclusion of the papal conclave.
Prevost, 69, becomes the first American-born Pope in the Church’s two-thousand-year history, marking a significant moment for Catholics in the United States and around the world.
He succeeds Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.
