Pope Leo XIV tells NBC News that he plans to visit the United States.
Leo is the first pope from the United States. Born Robert Francis Prevost, he was raised in Chicago and spent the majority of his career in Peru as a missionary.
“Will Americans see you soon in America?” NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas asked him July 29 after his “Concert for Peace” at Castel Gandolfo, which has historically served as the pope’s summer residence, located outside of Rome.
“They will see me there. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I certainly hope to be there soon,” the pope replied.
Pope Leo did not provide any specific details, but he did say he expects to be in the United States in the next two years. He didn’t say where he would visit, nor did he divulge information on the timing of a potential trip.
The pope also opened up about his American identity and where it stands in relation to his duties with the Catholic church.
“I think of myself more as the pope who happens to be American,” he said.
“I understand my mission as having a very important dimension, which is precisely being pastor of a universal church and yet, at the same time, I will acknowledge that, for myself, as well as for the people of the United States that there is great significance in being the first American pope.”
Leo hasn’t strayed far from his American roots. A well-known Chicago White Sox fan who even attended Game 5 of the 2005 World Series, in which Chicago defeated the Houston Astros, the pontiff delivered a special message during a celebratory mass at the team’s Rate Field last June after he was elected pope.
Leo, who is the youngest of three brothers, also said they come from a typical family.
“We all grew up in Dolton (Illinois),” brother John Prevost told NBC Chicago in May 2025 after his younger brother was elected pope. “I think it was just a normal childhood,” Prevost said, noting his brother left for the Augustinian Seminary after eighth grade and was only really at home for summer, Easter and Christmas breaks.
During his interview with Llamas, Leo also opened up about the history of slavery in his own family, his first on-camera comments about the matter.
While he was raised in Illinois, the pope’s ancestry goes back to Louisiana’s Creole population. In a statement previously given to TODAY.com, Kent W. Peacock, the director of Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, confirmed he has roots in Louisiana’s Creole communities and Creoles of African ancestry.
“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 in the kind of experience that helps me to recognize myself, one of the greatest wealths of the United States,” he said.
