The Vatican said Pope Leo, who was born in Chicago, had exercised his right to vote as a US citizen whenever he was eligible to do so. (EPA Images pic)VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church's first US-born pontiff, has voted in the United States midterm elections, submitting his mail-in ballot in Chicago, the Vatican said Friday.
It is the first known time a pope has voted in a political election.
The head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, who has clashed with US President Donald Trump, believes in "the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Vatican said in a statement.
The Chicago-born pontiff "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen whenever he was eligible to do so," the Vatican said.
