An American bank employee mistakenly ended a call with Pope Leo XIV, believing it was a prank, when he reached out to customer service for assistance.
Pope Leo, originally named Robert Prevost and hailing from Chicago, contacted his local bank to update his address after assuming the papacy last year, according to his friend, Reverend Tom McCarthy.
During a Catholic gathering on May 2, McCarthy recounted, “She asked all the security questions and then said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry sir, it says here you have to come in person.’”
Leo replied, “Well, I’m not going to be able to do that. I gave you all the security questions.”
In an attempt to resolve the issue, the Pope mentioned his position, asking, “Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?”
To which McCarthy humorously noted, “She hung up on him. Imagine being remembered as the person who hung up on the Pope!”
Leo connected with a local church leader who was able to get in contact with the president of the bank.
McCarthy said the bank president insisted, ‘Well, that’s our policy.’
An American bank employee hung up the phone on Pope Leo XIV when he called customer service because she thought it was a prank call
Leo’s friend, Reverend Tom McCarthy, explained that when the Pope called to change his information, the bank told him he had to do it in person
When the church leader threatened the Pope would move his account to a different bank, the president agreed to make an exception.
‘So they finally changed his phone number and then he said “and don’t give the phone number out”,’ McCarthy joked.
Leo, the first American pope, has been at odds with President Donald Trump since he became pontiff last year.
In a fiery rant on Truth Social last month, Trump branded the leader of the world’s 1.4billion Catholics ‘WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy’.
He then sparked controversy after posting an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ, triggering backlash among his supporters and Catholics.
His attack came after Pope Leo called for peace in the Middle East, and said that Trump’s promise to destroy Iran was ‘unacceptable.’
On Monday night, Trump again went after the Pope in an interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt.
In it, Trump alleged that Leo believes ‘it is okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon’, adding: ‘I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.’
Leo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday amid his apparent feud with Donald Trump over the Middle East
The President continued: ‘But I guess if it’s up to the Pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.’
When asked about Trump’s latest remarks on Tuesday, the Pope said: ‘The Church’s mission is to preach the Gospel and to preach peace.
‘If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully,’ the pontiff went on.
‘The Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, so there is no doubt about that, and I simply hope to be heard for the sake of the value of God’s word.’
Trump later deleted the AI image, claiming he viewed the picture as him being a Red Cross doctor.
On Thursday, Leo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed ‘efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East.’
Both the Vatican and the US State Department stressed that Rubio’s meetings with Leo and the Vatican´s top diplomat underscored strong bilateral ties.
