Pope Leo, born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, made history on May 8, 2025, as the first North American Pope to be elected at the Vatican. The 267th pontiff then went ahead with delivering his first mass on May 9, 2025 and the world was taken aback given his highly American accent and also the fact that he spoke in English besides Spanish and Italian.
The newly elected Pope began his mass by addressing the Cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel, saying, “I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a Church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel.”
Hearing the Pope speaking English in an American accent is something that will very much startle me the first few times https://t.co/uPF3ZbsE2E
— Otto Von Tweetmarck (@OVTweetmarck) May 8, 2025
He then went ahead to continue his sermon in Italian as he expressed his wish of being a “faithful administrator” for the entire Church. The newly elected Pope further added, “Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent.” He also mentioned that their “missionary outreach is desperately needed” at places that prefer “technology, money, success, power or pleasure.”
While his accent and usage of English was being criticized, it is important to note that Pope Leo had perhaps used English, which is his mother tongue, to connect better with the English-speaking Catholics worldwide. However, his multilingual approach also suggested that he kept in mind the Church’s universal reach. Using English drew so much attention because this breaks the tradition of Pope’s delivering their first homily in either Latin or Italian while sometimes using Spanish or French.
Though his speech talked about the important things in regards to his current position and the Church’s responsibilities as a religious institution, the internet got hung up on his American accent and using English during his first mass. One user on X posted, “The new Pope speaking in English with an American accent!!! What a jolt for me.”
Another one mentioned, “The Pope is speaking English, with an American accent.” A third user added, “The pope is gonna have an American accent and for some reason that is cracking me up like no other. The Pope should not be an American.” Another user was quite straightforward with their opinion as they posted, “You simply cannot be Pope if you have an American accent.”
It is so wild to hear a Pope speak English with an American accent. https://t.co/5J5FlSq0ci
— Rick Folbaum (@RickFolbaum) May 8, 2025
A different perspective emerged through another tweet, as the user said, “A Pope with any American twang is really interesting, culturally.” However, another user went with the general option about the Pope, saying, “An American pope with an American accent doesn’t sit right with me…”
Regarding the name that the newly elected Pope has chosen for himself, he has done so in accordance with “ca name widely associated with the social justice legacy of Pope Leo XIII, who was pontiff at a time of epic upheaval in the world, the time of the industrial revolution, the beginning of Marxism, and widespread immigration.” This choice of the name therefore, also shows his stance on various socio-political matters, including immigration.
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It now remains to be seen if the new Pope Leo takes forward Pope Francis’ legacy in terms of LGBTQ+ rights and women’s empowerment and if the internet can let go of the fact that he used English while delivering his first mass.
