Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican shortly after his election on May 8.Domenico Stinellis/The Associated Press
When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the new Pope of the Catholic Church, there were reactions from people all over the world who had been awaiting the news, including the proudly “very online” crowd, who were quick to highlight his social media history.
In the biggest conclave in history with more than 133 cardinals, Cardinal Prevost – now Pope Leo XIV — was not predicted to be a strong contender for the papacy, in part because of his American background. This now marks the first time in the Vatican’s history that an American (who also holds Peruvian citizenship) has been elected as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Alongside this unexpected outcome, one more element is now a point of contention among the community – he appears to have left behind an intriguing digital footprint.
Prior to the papal election, the Chicago-born cardinal had accounts on social media platforms X and Instagram, where he posted and interacted with other users. He would also retweet and share links on political and social issues. As of now, only the X account @drprevost is still available to the public.
Leo spoke off-the-cuff in English to the cardinals who elected him to lead the Catholic Church and follow in Pope Francis’ social justice-minded footsteps.
The Associated Press
Here’s a closer look at Pope Leo XIV’s previous online presence.
Criticism of the Trump administration
Cardinal Prevost had been heavily critical of U.S. President Donald Trump, even prior to his first presidential term. In 2015, he posted a link to a Washington Post story that took issue with Mr. Trump’s anti-migrant statements titled "Cardinal Dolan: Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic."
Later in 2017, he reposted tweets calling out the Trump administration’s racist rhetoric and immigration policies after children were separated from their undocumented parents.
Even his most recent reposts criticized Mr. Trump’s actions, including one from Feb. 13 sharing the letter written by the late Pope Francis condemning the U.S. mass deportations and their effects on those involved.
The last activity on the account before Cardinal Prevost became the Pope was a repost of an X post from Rocco Palmo, a writer with a blog about the Catholic Church, sharing an article about Kilmar Abrego Garcia being mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. The post questioned Mr. Trump’s level of empathy toward the situation.
Although these posts have resurfaced, Mr. Trump has publicly congratulated Pope Leo, stating, “To have the Pope from America is a great honour.”
Roman Catholic leaders’ views of Mr. Trump haven’t been entirely positive, with Pope Francis voicing his concerns on U.S. immigration policies and Mr. Trump’s skepticism of climate change before his death.
‘JD Vance is wrong’
U.S. Vice-President JD Vance was not exempt from mentions on Cardinal Prevost’s X account either.
In February, he reposted articles from America Magazine and National Catholic Reporter, the latter heavily critiquing Mr. Vance’s statement that Christians primarily love the people close to them before those from other countries. He captioned the X post with the story’s headline “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
On May 8, Mr. Vance commented on Cardinal Prevost becoming the first American Pope in an X post, writing “May God bless him!”
George Floyd’s murder
Cardinal Prevost also had reposted content related to the death of George Floyd. After Mr. Floyd was brutalized and murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, he reposted tweets in support of Mr. Floyd’s family and denouncing racism.
Mr. Floyd’s death sparked the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and national conversations on race relations in the United States.
Online reactions to first American pope
It did not take long for online communities to start having some fun with Cardinal Prevost’s new title, including X account Pope Crave (a twist on pop culture hub Pop Crave).
Concerns about his political views and past
There were also those who compiled lists of Cardinal Prevost’s stances – based on his social media presence and in written and spoken remarks – on topics like the LGBTQ+ community, climate action, deportation policies and other issues. A good number were divided on his more conservative-leaning viewpoints that opposed his predecessor’s outspoken support for the LGBTQ+ community.
There are also people expressing concern about Pope Leo after advocacy groups alleged he failed to properly investigate two cases of sexual abuse committed by other priests against children – one in Chicago and the other in Peru. While he denied covering up the cases, his involvement is sparking conversations on the Catholic Church’s history with child sexual abuse.
What comes next?
Pope Leo has not addressed his previous social media posts, and it’s unclear whether he will or whether he will continue posting on social media in his new role. It is possible Pope Leo will follow in Pope Francis’s footsteps, who set a precedent as the first Pope to frequent social media platforms such as X (@Pontifex) and Instagram (@franciscus), using them to engage with Catholics worldwide.