After joking he wanted to be the new pope himself, Donald Trump has respond to today’s news of Pope Francis’ successor.
Last month, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 at Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City.
As speculation grew about who would succeed Pope Francis, eight cardinals emerged as frontrunners to take the helm of the Church.
Earlier today, the conclave concluded its secretive meeting and formally announced the election of the new pope.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, has been chosen as the 267th pope and will take the papal name Pope Leo XIV.
Donald Trump, who previously joked about becoming the next pope and shared a ‘blasphemous’ image of himself as the pontiff, seems to have no hard feelings about the title going to someone else.
The former president has expressed his support for the new pope, especially since the position has gone to an American.
On Truth Social, Trump posted: “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a great honor for our country.”
Trump also added, “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Born in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV is indeed the first American to take the papal office. He served as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023 and was the general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013.
The announcement was made from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, after the Catholic Church’s most senior figures gathered in Rome to elect the new pope. With over 240 cardinals worldwide, the number of papal electors is typically capped at 120.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in a papal conclave.respond
Beneath Michelangelo’s iconic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, 138 eligible cardinals cast their ballots—voting up to four times a day over the past two days—until a two-thirds majority was reached in favor of Pope Leo XIV.
