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, formerly known as Robert Prevost, who was born and raised in Chicago, called his home town bank to let them know he moved about two months after he became the pontiff last year, according to his friend Reverend Tom McCarthy.
‘She asked all the security questions and then says, “Oh, I’m sorry sir, it says here you have to come in person,”‘ McCarthy told a Catholic gathering on May 2.
‘He said, “Well, I’m not going to be able to do that. I gave you all the security questions.”‘
The pontiff even tried to use his status as the Holy Father to try to get her to cave, saying, ‘Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?’
McCarthy said, ‘She hung up on him. Could you imagine being known as the woman 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.
