Even Pope Leo XIV, leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, could not get past a U.S. call center. A bank agent reportedly hung up on him when he called for help with his account.
The New York Times reported May 5 that the story was shared by the pope’s close friend, Father Tom McCarthy, at a recent event in Naperville, Illinois. McCarthy, a well-known figure in the U.S. South, is chaplain at St. Rita of Cascia High School, a Catholic private school in Chicago. He met Leo XIV in Chicago in the 1980s, and both grew up in working-class neighborhoods, the Times said.
According to the Times, about two months after his election, the pope called a bank in his hometown of Chicago. The pope, whose birth name is Robert Francis Prevost, told the call center he was Robert Prevost and said he wanted to change the phone number and address on file. He answered security questions, the report said.
The agent told him the information was not sufficient and that he would need to visit a branch in person. The pope replied, “I don’t think I can,” and asked whether it would make a difference if he said he was Pope Leo. The agent then hung up, the Times reported.
McCarthy confirmed by email that the account was true. He said the issue was resolved after another priest intervened and connected them with the bank’s president. The Times reported there was no further word about the call center agent.
First American pope
As the Roman Catholic Church’s first American pope, Leo XIV’s U.S. tax obligations again drew attention during this year’s tax season, following last year’s interest. In the United States, income tax returns are due each year by April 15, and Americans living abroad typically report worldwide income. The pope holds U.S. and Peruvian citizenship and also has Vatican citizenship, for a total of three nationalities. In a March report, U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN said the Vatican press office did not respond to questions about whether the pope filed a U.S. income tax return. Antonio Cizzoniti, a professor of canon law at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Italy, told Vatican-focused outlet ACI Stampa that the pope, as head of state of Vatican City, has immunity that prevents foreign governments from enforcing civil or administrative obligations.
Leo XIV has also drawn attention for high-profile moves on international conflicts and interfaith unity. He is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the 7th to seek ways to address the Iran issue. Reuters reported that U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch said Rubio expected a “candid” meeting with the pope during the Vatican visit.
Last month, the pope prayed jointly at the Vatican’s Urbano Chapel with Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, the Anglican Communion’s first female leader, for religious unity and harmony. His appointment earlier this month of Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, who is from El Salvador, as head of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia also drew notice.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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