Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has extended an official invitation to Pope Leo XIV to visit his native city next year, following a private audience with the pontiff at the Vatican on Thursday.
During the meeting, Johnson presented the pope with a letter recalling the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Chicago on October 5, 1979, when he celebrated Mass in Grant Park. The mayor described that event as "the most spiritually inspiring day in Chicago history."
In his letter, Johnson noted that Pope Leo XIV, who was a young seminarian at the time of John Paul II's visit, might have been present. He invited the pope to consider a return nearly 50 years later, saying, "Perhaps you would consider a repeat Papal visit to share your own message of hope, unity and service."
The mayor, who grew up as the son of a pastor, specifically invited Pope Leo XIV to celebrate Mass in Grant Park in 2027, highlighting that Chicago is home to one of the largest Catholic populations in the United States.
This is at least the second official invitation Pope Leo XIV has received to visit the United States. U.S. Vice President JD Vance extended an invitation shortly after the pope's election in May.
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost in 1955, is a native of Chicago's South Side neighborhood of Bronzeville. He grew up in suburban Dolton, attending Mass and elementary school at St. Mary of the Assumption. He later studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in Hyde Park and taught in local Catholic schools.
