Pope Leo XIV has delved into his family history and revealed that his ancestors included both enslaved people and slave owners.
“I come from a family where my grandparents were immigrants,” the first American pope told NBC News Wednesday in the Vatican Gardens at Castel Gandolfo. “Some on my mother’s side were slaves and some were slave owners.”
In response to a reporter’s question about his American heritage, Leo spoke Wednesday about his family’s historical ties to the transatlantic slave trade.
Asked what he loved about his country, the pope said he also admired America’s “sense of freedom and sense of opportunity” and “the way we have invited people from all over the world to be part of our country for generations.”
The importance of welcoming new arrivals is a message the Chicago-born pope has repeatedly sent to the United States, having criticized the “inhumane” treatment of immigrants during the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Leo XIV also raised the possibility of visiting the United States at some point in the next two years. “They’ll see me there,” he said. “It just so happens that today we were looking at the calendar for the next few years. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we hope to get there soon.”
The head of the Catholic Church typically does not visit countries during election years, so if a papal visit were to occur within the next two years, it would likely be in 2027.
The pope, aware that he is too defined by his country of origin, told reporters that he sees himself as a pope who “happens to be American” and has a mission to lead a church that spans the globe. “My family is still in the United States,” he noted, before adding, “I love America very much.”
Given recent tensions between the White House and the Holy See, a papal visit to the United States will require careful diplomatic negotiations. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump launched a series of rants against Leo, accusing him of being “soft on crime.” This came after the Pope announced his opposition to US military intervention in Iran.
Leo’s comments about his family history came after research revealed that his ancestry was of mixed European American and African American ancestry. His maternal grandparents, who live in New Orleans, are listed in census records as “black” and “mulatto.” The study, conducted by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., also revealed that Pope’s ancestry included both slave owners and enslaved people.
Earlier this year, Leo made history by becoming the first pope to publicly acknowledge and apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery. “I beg forgiveness” for the church’s slowness in condemning the slave trade, he said in his homily on artificial intelligence. “When I think of the immense suffering and humiliation that so many have endured, I cannot help but feel deep sadness.”
