Pope Leo XIV has voted by mail in Chicago ahead of the 3 November US midterm elections, the Vatican confirmed. That makes him the first sitting pontiff to take part in a US general election. He holds US, Peruvian and Vatican citizenship and requested his ballot in early October. The Vatican did not say whom he supported, and stressed that he votes whenever he is eligible. Al Jazeera notes his repeated public clashes with President Trump over the war with Iran and over immigration.

For secularists the vote itself is a small act, but it raises a real question: when the head of a global church is also a citizen and a voter, where does pastoral voice end and political influence begin?

Source: Al Jazeera (2026-10-31)

Summarised by the FTI newsdesk.