Pope Leo XIV makes a speech at the end of a concert in Borgo Laudato Si, a 55-hectare educational and environmental center, at Castel Gandolfo on July 29, 2026. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP)Pope Leo XIV has “great love” for the United States and what it stands for but doesn’t define himself as American, the Chicago-born pope told NBC in an interview. “I think of myself more as the pope who happens to be American. Not to belittle what it means to be an American,” said the pope, when asked how important it was to him being American. Leo told NBC that no trip had yet been planned for the United States, but he hoped to visit “soon”.