Pope Leo XIV talked on July 29 with Tom Llamas (NBC) about his heritage and what it means to be the first pope from the US.
“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”, Leo XIV said.
Leo XIV loves about America “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.”
Discussing his family's heritage, he said, “I come from a family where my grandparents were immigrants. On my mother’s side, we have people who were both slaves and slave owners.”
Llamas also asked when the pope will visit the United States. “In the next couple of years,” Leo answered.
The interview was Leo XIV's first interview with a US television journalist, and it aired alongside the Concert for Peace, marking the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi's death, featuring Andrea Bocelli and a 200-child interfaith choir from conflict-affected regions.
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