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Pope Leo XIV Copies Kids’ Viral ‘6-7’ Gesture as Video Racks Up Tens of Millions of Views

The moment underscores how Gen Alpha memes now reach even the Vatican.

Overview

  • Pope Leo XIV, greeting children Saturday at the Vatican, paused, smiled, and mimicked the “6-7” phrase and hand motion as the kids cheered.
  • The video posted by Don Roberto Fiscer on TikTok had surpassed 23 million views by Monday after spreading across Instagram and X.
  • The children were part of a roughly 1,000-strong group from the Archdiocese of Genoa visiting Rome as they prepared for confirmation.
  • The “6-7” meme stems from rapper Skrilla’s December 2024 track Doot Doot, and Dictionary.com named it 2025’s Word of the Year as an interjection often taken to mean “so‑so.”
  • Reports describe the light exchange as reinforcing Leo XIV’s approachable, internet-friendly image, with no formal Vatican statement beyond the playful encounter.