Overview
- Pope Leo XIV, two months into his papacy, phoned his Chicago bank to update his phone number and address, according to the Rev. Tom McCarthy.
- The customer-service agent verified his answers but said policy required an in-person visit, which he said he could not make from Rome.
- After he identified himself as Pope Leo, the agent ended the call, McCarthy said in a public talk that was recorded and shared online.
- An Augustinian priest then reached the bank’s president, who first cited policy and then had the phone number changed after hearing the pope might move his account.
- News outlets picked up McCarthy’s story as the video spread, the Vatican did not respond to requests for comment, and reporters noted similar past anecdotes such as Pope Francis canceling a newspaper delivery by phone.