Pope Leo, the very first American to become Pope, gave his first mass in English—and people everywhere are all talking about the same thing.
Born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo was chosen as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church just this past Thursday (8 May). And it didn’t take long for social media to light up with reactions to his Chicago accent during his first speech as the Pope.
The 69-year-old’s singing voice was already heard earlier this morning (9 May) during the mass, but what really surprised people was his strong accent—it caught a lot of folks off guard.
One user on X wrote: “The new Pope speaking in English with an American accent!!! What a jolt for me.”
Another added: “The Pope is speaking English, with an American accent.”
A third person joked: “The pope is gonna have an American accent and for some reason that is cracking me up like no other. The Pope should not be an American.”
And a fourth said: “You simply cannot be Pope if you have an American accent.”
American #Pope #LeoneXIV pic.twitter.com/EBEXsl7rka
— Alfredo Trezza (@AlfredoTrezza3) May 9, 2025
Reactions online have been mixed.
“A Pope with any American twang is really interesting, culturally,” pointed out one user, while another agreed: “An American pope with an American accent doesn’t sit right with me…”12
