Pope Leo XIV has made history by becoming the first pontiff to vote in a US general election, after submitting his ballot by post for the country’s midterm elections.

The Vatican confirmed on 30 October that the Chicago-born Pope had cast a postal ballot in Chicago ahead of the 3 November midterm elections, citing his longstanding belief in political participation.

Pope Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, “exercised his right to vote as a citizen of the United States” and did so “whenever he was entitled to do so”, the Holy See Press Office said.

According to the statement, he had also voted while living in Peru, where he spent more than 20 years as a missionary and bishop, whenever he was eligible.

“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the statement said.

In the elections, voters in Illinois will decide whether to re-elect the state’s governor, JB Pritzker, for a third term, while also filling a vacant seat in the US Senate following the departure of long-serving Catholic Democrat Dick Durbin.

The Pope’s vote was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, which cited the chief of staff at the Will County clerk’s office. The official said the pontiff, who is registered at an address in New Lenox, requested a postal ballot on 3 October.

The request was submitted just 10 days before he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung. After being discharged from hospital on 17 October, the Pope has gradually begun resuming his activities at the Vatican.

It is unclear how he submitted his ballot. The Pope’s elder brother, John Prevost, was in Rome this week accompanying parishioners from St Jude’s Church, an Augustinian-run parish in New Lenox, Illinois. The elder Prevost attends Mass there, while the Pope delivered an address to the parish in 2024, when he was still a cardinal.

Prevost has previously voted in both Democratic and Republican primaries

According to records from the Illinois State Board of Elections, Robert Prevost has voted in five primary elections since 2000, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times.

The records do not indicate which candidates he supported. Illinois voters must declare their party preference to receive a ballot in primary elections. No such declaration is required in general elections.

While registered in Cook County, which has a strong Democratic majority, Prevost requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010. After moving to the more conservative suburban Will County, he requested Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

The records also show that he submitted ballots in every general election since 2000, with the exception of those held in 2020 and 2022.

Clashes with Trump

According to an Associated Press report, since becoming Pope, Leo has faced criticism from US President Donald Trump for repeatedly condemning the US-Israeli war in Iran and calling for migrants to be treated with dignity.

Earlier this year, Trump described Leo as “weak” and “a hostage to the radical left”.

Responding to Trump’s public rebuke, the Pope told journalists aboard his flight to Algeria: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration, nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, for which the Church works.”

“I will continue to speak out forcefully against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue and multilateralism among states in order to find solutions to problems,” he added.

However, the public confrontation between the two men has eased in recent months.