Catholics around the world are celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States. Beyond his American citizenship, Pope Leo also holds Peruvian nationality, having ministered there for decades. This unique situation raises important questions about nationality law, particularly for a sitting pope.
According to U.S. federal law — specifically 8 U.S. Code § 1481 — a U.S. citizen may lose their citizenship under specific conditions, including “accepting a position as a foreign head of state,” as Paul Hunker, an American immigration attorney and Catholic, explained to CNA. However, the law requires that such actions be taken “voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing their U.S. nationality.”
Hunker said that for Pope Leo to lose his U.S. citizenship, he would need to affirm his intent to renounce it directly to a U.S. consular officer in Rome, which he has not done. “I think unless he comes forward and says, ‘I have the intention of relinquishing my U.S. nationality,’ then he is not considered to have lost his U.S. citizenship,” Hunker told CNA.
The U.S. State Department generally assumes that citizens, even those accepting foreign government roles, intend to keep their U.S. citizenship unless they clearly express otherwise. This assumption could apply to Pope Leo XIV, as he has not signaled an intention to renounce his nationality. Still, the State Department reserves the right to review cases of U.S. nationals serving as foreign heads of state, as such cases “raise complex questions of international law,” the Washington Post reported.
For his part, Pope Leo XIV’s Peruvian citizenship is similarly secure. Under Peruvian law, nationality obtained through naturalization is not lost except by express renunciation before a Peruvian authority. Thus, Leo could theoretically maintain his U.S. and Peruvian citizenships indefinitely.
But what about Vatican citizenship? According to Andrea Gagliarducci, a Vatican analyst for CNA, Pope Leo XIV already possessed a Vatican passport, as all cardinals and curial officials do. However, as Gagliarducci noted, “The pope is not a citizen; he is the whole Holy See. The pope does not need a passport nor a citizenship, because he is the source of every citizenship.”
This situation is not without precedent. Pope Francis, an Argentinian by birth, renewed his Argentinian passport in 2014, though he never returned to Argentina during his pontificate. For Pope Leo XIV, maintaining multiple citizenships appears permissible but largely symbolic, as Gagliarducci explained: “There is no harm in keeping the passports, but they are no longer needed and useful.”
