Grand Old Popey.
Pope Leo XIV was an active voter who participated in several Republican primaries in recent years and voted in the most recent presidential election, according to a report.
Then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, pulled the lever in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016, the Washington Free Beacon reported, citing election records.
The Dolton, Illinois, born pontifex also voted in general elections in 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024, the report stated.
Voters in Illinois are not required to register with a political party but the recent voting records revealed that Leo XIV had only participated in Republican primaries, the Beacon reported.
Prevost was named Bishop of Chicalyo in Peru by Pope Francis in 2014 and served there until 2023, when he was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and brought to Rome.
His last participation in a Republican primary in 2016, before he skipped the general election that year, lends credence to speculation that the rising pope may have been a never-Trump Republican.
The Holy Father spent years amplifying criticism of President Trump’s immigration policies on social media, including as recently as last month.
In April, Leo XIV retweeted a message from a Catholic commentator who slammed Trump and the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, as the pair met in the Oval Office amidst the controversy over alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Prevost also aired his disagreement with the president during his first term on social media, retweeting a post in 2017 that expressed dismay over the “refugee ban.”
Catholic convert Vice President JD Vance received his own moral rebuke from Leo XIV, who retweeted, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
