US President Donald Trump congratulated Pope Leo XIV on his election today as head of the Roman Catholic Church and said it was “such a great honor to learn that he is the first American pope“, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
American Cardinal Robert Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV, is a native of Chicago.
“What an excitement and what a great honor for the country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. This will be a very significant moment! ", Trump wrote on his social network "Truth Social".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration of President Donald Trump looks forward to working with the first American Pope Leo XIV, reported Agence France-Presse.
AFP notes that Rubio himself is a devout Catholic.
"The United States looks forward to deepening its enduring relationship with the Holy See with the first American Pope," the Cuban-born secretary of state said in a statement after the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as pope earlier today.