Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 70th birthday Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, thanking his parents and saying lessons learned growing up amid Chicago’s White Sox–Cubs rivalry helped shape his approach to diplomacy.
Thousands of faithful gathered for the pope’s weekly Sunday prayer, many carrying balloons and large signs reading “Happy birthday” in multiple languages. "My dears, it seems you know today I have turned 70," the pope told the crowd, adding, "I thank the Lord, my parents and all those who remembered me in their prayers." His parents died in the 1990s, according to Vatican statements.
Leo, who was elected in May at age 69, is the youngest person chosen to lead the Catholic Church since John Paul II in 1978, who was selected at 58. That raises the prospect of a lengthy papacy; Leo has said he is conscious of that responsibility but is still finding his footing. Excerpts from an upcoming biography, including an interview with Vatican reporter Elise Ann Allen released Sunday, quoted the pope saying, "There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me. I’m learning a lot and feeling very challenged but not overwhelmed."
The pope, who is the first American elected to the papacy, told the crowd that his Chicago childhood informed how he handles disagreement on the world stage. "At home, I grew up a White Sox fan, but my mother was a Cubs fan, so you couldn’t be one of those fans that shut out the other side," he said. "We learned, even in sports, to have an open, dialogical, friendly and not angry competitive stance on things like that, because we might not have gotten dinner had we."
Adapting from spiritual leader to prominent geopolitical figure has been among the pope’s steepest adjustments. "The totally new aspect to this job is being thrown onto the level of world leader," he said in the interview. "On that one I had to jump in on the deep end of the pool very quickly." World leaders and diplomats marked his birthday with messages and gestures of goodwill. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni described the pope’s words as "reliable and solid guidance" in "extremely complex times," and the United States ambassador to the Vatican sent a birthday cake.
The celebration in St. Peter’s Square combined religious observance with public festivity, reflecting the international attention that accompanies the papacy. As Leo continues to settle into his role, Vatican officials said the pope remains focused on pastoral duties while navigating the broader responsibilities that come with being a global moral and political interlocutor.