Pope Leo says his ancestors were both ‘slaves and slave owners’
By Christopher Lamb, CNN
(CNN) — Pope Leo XIV has delved into his family history, revealing his ancestry included both enslaved people and slave owners.
“I come from a family that my grandparents were immigrants,” the first American pontiff told NBC news in the Vatican Gardens of Castel Gandolfo on Wednesday. “On my mother’s side, we have people who were both slaves and slave owners.”
Leo spoke about his family’s historical links to the transatlantic slave trade on Wednesday in response to a reporter’s question about his American heritage.
Asked what he loves about his homeland, the pope also said he highly values the United States’ “sense of freedom, the sense of opportunity” and “of having invited for generations people from around the world to be part of America.”
The importance of welcoming new arrivals is a message the Chicago-born pope has repeatedly sent to the US, as he has criticized the “inhuman” treatment of immigrants during the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Homecoming for Pope Leo?
Leo XIV also raised the possibility of visiting the US at some point over the next two years. “They will see me there,” he said. “By coincidence, today we were looking at the calendar for the next couple of years. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I certainly hope to be there soon.”
If a papal visit were to take place within the next two years, it would likely be in 2027 as the head of the Catholic Church generally doesn’t visit a country during an election year.
Aware of being overly defined by his country of birth, the pontiff told reporters he sees himself as a pope “who happens to be American,” with a mission to lead a church spread across the world. Although he pointed out that his “family is still in the United States,” before adding, “I have great love for America.”
Any papal trip to the US would need careful diplomatic negotiation given recent tensions between the White House and the papacy. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump launched a series of broadsides against Leo, accusing him of being “weak on crime.” This came after the pope spoke out against the US military intervention in Iran.
Leo’s remarks on his family history come after research found he had a mix of European and African American ancestors. His maternal grandparents, residents of New Orleans, are described in census records as “black” and “mulatto.” The research, conducted by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., also revealed that the pope’s ancestors included both slave owners and enslaved people.
Earlier this year, Leo made history by becoming the first pontiff to publicly acknowledge and apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery. In his teaching document on Artificial Intelligence, he asked “for pardon” for the church’s slowness to condemn the slave trade, saying it was “impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
