Vatican officials confirm Pope Leo XIV has no U.S. trip planned for 2026 as his criticism of Trump-era policies puts faith and power on a collision course.
The first American Pontiff is skipping a visit to his home country in the first year of his papacy.
The Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has not visited the United States since assuming the papacy last year, and it appears that American Catholics will have to wait a little longer. The Holy See Press Office confirmed on Sunday that a U.S. trip is not on the agenda for 2026.
The National Catholic Reporter detailed that, before the Vatican confirmed Pope Leo would skip the U.S., there was speculation he would visit sometime around the United Nations General Assembly in September.
A pope visiting his home country in the first year is not unheard of; Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both made trips in their first 12 months, although Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, never visited Argentina.
Pope Leo is expected to visit countries in Latin America, Africa, and other nations in Europe before the year’s end.
The announcement follows Pope Leo’s vocal criticisms of the Trump Administration’s policies. Last November, I called the president’s treatment of immigrants “extremely disrespectful.” Following Donald Trump’s attack on Venezuela in January, the pope condemned “diplomacy based on force” and a renewed “zeal for war.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019 and wrote that his conversion “demanded that I let go of grudges, and forgive even those who wronged me,” has been caught between his faith and his political agenda since assuming office.
