Pope Leo
Leo
“I think of myself more as the pope, I happen to be American. Without minimizing what it means to be American,” the pope said when asked how important being American is to him.
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“I have a great love for America, but I consider that my mission has a very important dimension, which consists precisely in being pastor of a universal Church and in having a voice and the possibility of speaking to people all over the world,” added Leo XIV, who spent almost two decades as a missionary in Peru.
Asked what he liked about the United States, he replied: “so many things.” “In a way, if we talk about principles, about what the United States represents, (I like) this feeling of freedom, this idea of opportunity, this desire to have welcomed, for generations, people who have come from all over the world to be part of America,” the 70-year-old pope said.
Immigrant grandparents
He said his grandparents were immigrants and that on his mother’s side he had “both ancestors who were slaves and others who were slave owners.”
Leo
On July 4, the American national holiday, he visited the Italian island of Lampedusa – one of the main entry points into Europe for those attempting the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean from Africa – where he called for tolerance and protection of vulnerable migrants, many of whom lose their lives during their journey.
The American Pope also told NBC that no trip to the United States was yet planned, but that he hoped to go there “soon”.
