Pope Leo XIV Calls Chicago Bank To Update Address, Teller Hangs Up

Two months into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV called his Chicago bank to change his on-file address and phone number, according to John Prevost’s account on CNN’s OutFront as recounted by The Independent.

“Last year, America produced its first-ever pope when a Chicago native named Robert Prevost was elected to serve as the Supreme Pontiff”

BroBible

Prevost said the Pope identified himself on the call by his birth name, Robert, and answered a list of security questions before the teller told him he would need to travel to the bank to finalize the process in person.

BroBible

Prevost said the Pope’s brother tried to explain that it wasn’t going to work out because the Pope’s new address was at the Vatican, and the teller “hung up.”

The Chicago Sun-Times similarly describes that after Pope Leo XIV answered security questions, he was told he’d have to show up in person and he asked, “Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?” before “Click.

“She hung up on him,” McCarthy said.”

The Independent reports that Father Tom McCarthy told a slightly different version to a congregation in Naperville, Illinois, saying it was the Pope himself who identified himself to the sceptical teller.

In that telling, McCarthy said the Pope asked, “Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?” and the teller ended the call in disbelief.

Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago Sun-Times adds that McCarthy told the story on April 29 to the Fishers of Men at Saints Peter and Paul in Naperville, and that after the hang-up the Pope made more phone calls.

It says McCarthy reached Rev.

Bernie Scianna, who “somehow” got someone who reached the bank’s president, and that the president reiterated the bank’s policy that customers must change their phone number or address in person, not over the phone.

After the initial call, The Independent says the end result was “the teller ending the call in disbelief,” with “one of the provincials” eventually going to the bank to sort out the situation.

““Would It Matter If I Told You I’m Pope Leo”

Letters from Leo

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that when Scianna threatened to move Pope Leo’s account to a different bank, the president said the bank didn’t want to lose the pope’s account, and “Shortly after that, the bank followed through, and changed the information on Pope Leo’s account.”

USA Today similarly describes that after the pope’s initial ill-fated phone call, he turned to Rev.

Bernie Scianna for help and that the bank made an exception, with McCarthy saying, “They finally changed his phone number,” and then the pope said, “And don’t give the phone number out.”

The Independent also places the episode in a wider diplomatic moment, saying the Pope was set to meet with U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday.