Pope Leo XIV will settle for the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on the eve of July 4 in a distant broadcast from Rome, however received’t journey to the U.S. throughout its 250th birthday celebrations this yr.Leo, the primary American pope, will as a substitute spend the Fourth of July on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, the arrival level for a lot of determined migrants attempting to succeed in Europe from Africa.He might be honored on Independence Mall on July 3 for “his lifelong work selling spiritual liberty and freedom of conscience and expression all over the world — beliefs enshrined by America’s founders within the First Modification,” the Nationwide Structure Middle mentioned in a press launch Monday.The middle awards the Liberty Medal annually to somebody “of braveness and conviction” who promotes liberty all over the world. Previous recipients embody Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Supreme Courtroom Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the late civil rights chief.Leo, born Robert F. Prevost, was raised in Chicago and attended Villanova College close to Philadelphia, graduating in 1977.He has a busy yr of journey deliberate, together with a grand tour of Italy and journeys to 4 African nations. The Vatican has confirmed he won’t journey to the US this yr, regardless of an invite from President Donald Trump.Leo has adopted in his predecessor’s footsteps in highlighting the plight of migrants all over the world.Pope Francis had made Lampedusa his first journey outdoors Rome after his 2013 election, when he celebrated Mass there on an altar manufactured from shipwrecked migrant boats and denounced the “globalization of indifference”— a mantra that elevated tensions with the primary Trump administration.Francis visited Philadelphia throughout a six-day journey throughout the U.S. in 2015.
Pope Leo XIV will settle for the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on the eve of July 4 in a distant broadcast from Rome, however received’t journey to the U.S. throughout its 250th birthday celebrations this yr.
Leo, the primary American pope, will as a substitute spend the Fourth of July on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, the arrival level for a lot of determined migrants attempting to succeed in Europe from Africa.
He might be honored on Independence Mall on July 3 for “his lifelong work selling spiritual liberty and freedom of conscience and expression all over the world — beliefs enshrined by America’s founders within the First Modification,” the Nationwide Structure Middle mentioned in a press launch Monday.
The middle awards the Liberty Medal annually to somebody “of braveness and conviction” who promotes liberty all over the world. Previous recipients embody Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Supreme Courtroom Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the late civil rights chief.
Leo, born Robert F. Prevost, was raised in Chicago and attended Villanova College close to Philadelphia, graduating in 1977.
He has a busy yr of journey deliberate, together with a grand tour of Italy and journeys to 4 African nations. The Vatican has confirmed he won’t journey to the US this yr, regardless of an invite from President Donald Trump.
Leo has adopted in his predecessor’s footsteps in highlighting the plight of migrants all over the world.
Pope Francis had made Lampedusa his first journey outdoors Rome after his 2013 election, when he celebrated Mass there on an altar manufactured from shipwrecked migrant boats and denounced the “globalization of indifference”— a mantra that elevated tensions with the primary Trump administration.
Francis visited Philadelphia throughout a six-day journey throughout the U.S. in 2015.
