Pope Leo XIV gave interviews alongside Andrea Bocelli’s concert for peace that gave new insights into his mission as the first American-born pope (and a possible trip to his homeland!)
Just after his annual summer vacation, Pope Leo XIV granted brief interviews to NBC Nightly News and Noticias Telemundo that gave new insights into his mission as the first American-born pope, what the U.S. means to him, and his plans for the future.
The interviews took place as the Pope was hosting the “Canticle of Peace” concert at the Borgo Laudato Si' gardens on July 29. Andrea Bocelli performed alongside 164 children from the Holy Land, Uganda, and Italy to mark the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death and his Canticle of the Creatures. NBC and Telemundo had exclusive broadcast rights to the concert in the U.S.
Tom Llamas, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas, and Julio Vaqueiro, anchor of Noticias Telemundo, each had the chance to speak with the Pope briefly that evening.
Here are five things to take away from those conversations.
1He’s planning a U.S. trip
Perhaps the biggest news for his flock? Plans are in the works for an eventual trip to the United States.
While no formal plans have been made yet, Pope Leo XIV indicated that he hopes to visit before too long.
Llamas asked him, “Will Americans see you soon in America?”
Pope Leo replied:
They will see me there. By coincidence, today we were looking at the calendar for the next couple of years. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I certainly hope to be there soon.
Llamas replied, “But next couple of years? I heard you, Your Holiness.”
If the Pope’s hopes come to fruition, American Catholics can look forward to a visit from the Holy Father.
2The U.S. loves him — and the feeling is mutual
While making sure to clarify that he sees himself first as the pope with a universal mission, Pope Leo XIV acknowledged that his background means a lot to the people of the U.S. He said:
I will acknowledge that for myself, as well as for the people of the United States, judging by the response that we've seen since May 8 of last year, that there is great significance in being the first American pope.
He may have been referring in part to the “Leo effect” of higher than average conversions to Catholicism in the past year.
Just as the American people love him, the feeling is mutual. Pope Leo said, “I have great love for America.”
Later he mentioned a few things he especially appreciates about the U.S., including “what America stands for — the sense of freedom, the sense of opportunity, the sense of having invited for generations people from around the world to be part of America.”
3He sees himself in the American story
This interview was the first time Pope Leo has spoken publicly about his family’s ancestry, which includes both enslaved people and slaveholders — a background like that of countless Americans, reflecting the complex good and bad in the nation’s history.
Previous research found that his maternal grandparents had African American heritage and were part of New Orleans’ historic Creole community before they moved to Chicago. On his father’s side, both of his grandparents were immigrants, his grandfather from Italy and his grandmother from France.
In the interview, Pope Leo described how his story reflects the history of the U.S. and gives him an appreciation for the nation’s tradition of welcoming immigrants. After saying that he loves how the U.S. has “invited people from around the world to be part of America,” he said:
I come from a family that — my grandparents were immigrants. On my mother’s side, we have people who were both slaves and slave owners. There’s a history of, if you will, growing up and the kind of experience that helps me to recognize it as one of the greatest wealths of the United States. And I continue to hold the principles that have been a part of being American for so many years. That will continue.
4First, he's the pope
Pope Leo’s conversation with Llamas focused heavily on his relationship with the land of his birth. But more than anything else in the interview, Pope Leo wants the world to know that he is the pope first, with a universal mission that goes far beyond any one country.
When Llamas asked him, “How important is being American to you, and what do you love about America?,” Pope Leo XIV was quick to clarify, saying:
Well, first of all, just to clarify, I think of myself more as the pope, who happens to be American.
Not to belittle what it means to be American — I was born in the United States. My family is still in the United States. I have great love for America.
But I understand my mission as having a very important dimension, which is precisely being pastor of a universal Church, and having a voice and an opportunity to speak to people throughout the world.
So I will put things in that order.
5Message to migrants: “Have hope”
The same evening, the Pope also gave a Spanish-language interview to Noticias Telemundo, reflecting on the beauty of the concert as children from around the world sang together a prayer for peace.
The event, he said, “was an invitation to all of us to look beyond and see the beauty that can be created — or in which we can participate — when we set aside some of our differences and recognize the richness of being human, of all having been created in the image of God.”
At the end of the Telemundo interview, Vaqueiro asked the Pope if he had a message for immigrants to the U.S. He urged them to have hope and courage, while working for peace:
Have hope. Certainly, seek ways to live in an orderly manner. We must recognize that there may be people who — I don’t know — have suffered because of offenses, crimes, and things of that kind. A society cannot be built that way. We must therefore learn to live in peace, but we must also have the courage and the hope that always help us all.
