EditIs the new Pope a Republican or a Democrat?
Records show that the new Pope voted in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016 and in Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010
Within hours of the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel detailed analysis of Pope Leo XIV and what he would bring to the papacy was underway.
Would the new pope adhere to the positions of Pope Francis or would his papacy be more traditional?
The name chosen by Cardinal Prevost, Leo XIV, was seen as a commitment to continue the work of Leo XIII whose 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum became the foundational text of Catholic social teaching. Selecting the name Leo was an indication of another socially progressive papacy.
Pope Leo’s decision to revert to more traditional papal vestments for his first appearance on the Vatican balcony was taken as signalling a move away from the informality of Pope Francis.
An entirely novel aspect of the analysis of the first U.S. pontiff looked in another direction: does the Pope lean Democrat or Republican?
Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago and grew up in Dolton, just south of the city. Chicago has been a traditionally solid Democratic stronghold. Every one of the city’s mayors since April 1931, including Richard M. Daly who served for 6 terms, has been a Democrat. In the nine U.S. presidential elections since 1992, Illinois supported the Democrat candidate.
In Chicago, in the 2024 election, Kamala Harris received 54.37% of the vote to Donald Trump’s 43.47. Joe Biden beat Trump by 17 points, 57.5 to 40.6 in 2020. Hillary Clinton beat Trump by an even bigger margin 55.2% to 38.4% in 2016.
So, can it be assumed that the new Pope from Chicago voted Democrat and may even have voted against Trump? Would it be something to prompt a run-in with the current notoriously tetchy occupant of the White House?
While Father and later Bishop Prevost spent much of his adult life in Peru, he did not lose touch with U.S. politics. Records show him as an active voter in Chicago. He voted in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2024 presidential elections. There is no record of him voting in 2016 or 2020 elections.
The records also show that the new Pope voted in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016. On the other hand, he voted in the Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010. Given the political geography of Illinois and Chicago, the fact that Pope Leo participated in more Republican than Democratic Primaries is striking. While the available data does not say who then Bishop Prevost voted for, the available information suggests that should there be a ‘blow up’ between the first U.S. Pope and the current U.S. President, it cannot be based on any assumption by the latter as to Pope Leo’s party political leanings.
This is a good start given the febrile state of US politics.
EUalive’s columnist Dick Roche was the minister of state for European affairs when Ireland conducted the two referendums on the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union, in 2008 and 2009.
Caption: An undated handout photo made available by the Augustinian Province Of Our Mother Of Good Counsel on 9 May 2025 shows Robert Francis Prevost (L) shaking hands with then Pope Benedict XVI. Robert Francis Prevost was elected to become Pope Leo XIV by the conclave at the Vatican on 8 May 2025. [EPA-EFE/Handout photo]
Updated: May 14, 2025 - 17:20
