Everyone's confused after hearing what Pope Leo really sounds like during normal conversation
The leader of the Catholic Church can speak Italian, but was originally born in Chicago, Illinois
Pope Leo has well and truly established himself as the head of the Catholic Church in recent months, but people still can't quite wrap their heads around the Chicago accent coming out of the religious leader's mouth.
Leo, whose real name is Robert Francis Prevost, became the new pope after the previous leader, Pope Francis, died on Easter Monday, 2025.
His appointment made him the first American to fill the role of pope after he was born in Chicago to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, but Leo does speak Italian - among a number of other languages - and even delivered his first official address in Italian.
During that speech, Pope Leo said: "Thank you to my cardinal brothers who chose me to be the successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice, working together as women and men, faithful to Jesus Christ without fear, proclaiming Christ, to be missionaries, faithful to the gospel.
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"I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian. He said, "with you I am a Christian, for you a bishop". So may we all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us."
Since then, Pope Leo has gone on to address his followers on numerous occasions, but the leader still manages to surprise people with his regular speaking voice.
One particular clip of the 70-year-old which has gained interest online shows him taking part in an interview in which he touched on 'complex issues' such as abortion, the death penalty and being 'pro-life'.
In response to the clip, one viewer wrote: "I don’t think popes should sound like that."
Another commented: "he should be required to comically fake an italian accent."
"No pope should ever know what Illinois is," another viewer joked.
However, other people couldn't get enough of Leo's accent, as one commented: "I think all popes should sound like this."
This isn't the first time Pope Leo has surprised members of the public, as people were previously left surprised when Leo's brother, John Prevost, revealed the mundane things the religious leader did in his spare time before becoming pope.
Speaking about how Leo was taking his mind off the notion of being the new leader, Prevost said: "First we do Wordle, because this is a regular thing OK, then we do Words With Friends."
Learning this news, one viewer wrote: "It's so nice to see the human side of the new pope."
Topics: Pope Leo, Catholic Church, Religion, Social Media
Emily Brown