CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will meet Pope Leo XIV during a visit to the Vatican at the end of this month, his office announced Wednesday.

The trip will take place from May 26 to 30 and include stops in Rome and Vatican City, according to a statement from the mayor’s press office that highlighted Johnson and Leo’s shared ties to the nation’s third-largest city. The mayor’s meeting with the pope is set for May 28.

“I’m just elated that the Pope is from Chicago,” Johnson said in a statement about the upcoming trip. “I think we’re going to talk about the values we share — protecting voting rights, protecting immigrant rights, and protecting workers’ rights. He’s been very clear and consistent on those issues, and I’m looking forward to that conversation.”

Johnson’s visit will be the first time a pope has hosted a Chicago mayor in over a decade, since Pope Francis held a 2016 ceremony attended by Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the elevation of Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich to cardinal. As with that trip, expenses for this month’s excursion will be covered by World Business Chicago, according to Johnson’s office.

Earlier last month, a delegation of 25 mayors from the Illinois Municipal League had a private audience with Leo at the Vatican. Other Illinois politicians who have met with the pope include Gov. JB Pritzker and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the latter of whom is mulling a run for mayor.

Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born and Dolton-raised missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025. His selection was met with elation across Chicago, with Johnson chiming in that day, “Everything dope, including the Pope, comes from Chicago!”

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