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IrelandLeo XIV's US ballot adds a political dimension to papal tour
Vincent Hervouët's commentary connects the pope's Latin American reception with his reported midterm vote and tensions with Donald Trump.
FranceWhy this story? One of Europe 1's most watched videos since yesterday, with 43,244 views.
Europe 1: A French radio station on air since 1955, owned by the Bolloré family's media group. 2.3M subscribers and 2B views.
Ce Pape est un cas ! (Vincent Hervouët)
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- 0:19Hervouët describes Leo's welcome in Lima and his longstanding connections with Peru.
- 1:01The speakers say the pope voted by mail in the US midterm elections.
- 1:41Hervouët examines Trump's personal attacks on Leo and compares them with historical political-religious conflicts.
- 2:30The commentary describes the crowds greeting the pope in Argentina.
- 2:47Hervouët considers exchanges with Milei and the pope's positions on poverty, corruption and insecurity in Peru.
A pope casting an American election ballot is the detail Vincent Hervouët singles out in his account of Leo XIV's Latin American tour. The pontiff voted by mail in the US midterms, the journalist says, describing a voting pope as a first.
The filmed radio commentary, broadcast by France's Europe 1, is titled "Ce Pape est un cas ! (Vincent Hervouët)", meaning "This pope is quite a character!" It considers how Leo combines close ties to Latin America with an unusual place in American political life.
Hervouët describes a triumphant arrival in Lima, Peru's capital, and recalls the pope's more than two decades of connections with the country. His reception there is presented as a homecoming, rather than simply a visiting religious leader's welcome.
The discussion then turns to Trump's personal attacks on Leo. Hervouët characterizes them as unprecedented for an American president's treatment of a pontiff, drawing comparisons with much older conflicts between political and religious authority. That historical judgment is the commentator's.
Argentina supplies another part of his portrait: large, enthusiastic crowds and exchanges with President Javier Milei, the economist who took office in 2023. Hervouët also considers the pope's positions on poverty, corruption and insecurity in Peru.
The segment is a studio interpretation of the journey, not an on-location account. Its central argument is that Leo resists easy political expectations: a pontiff warmly received in Latin America who also participates in an American election and becomes a target of its president.
Head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City since 2025. He is the first North American pope and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine.
More on Wikipedia ›The November 3, 2026 US elections, which included all House seats and 35 Senate seats. Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress.
More on Wikipedia ›Argentina’s president since 2023, a politician and economist who previously served in the country’s Chamber of Deputies.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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The commentary drew about 43,000 views since yesterday, placing it among France's most-watched new news videos.
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Which country's president is Javier Milei?
Milei became president of Argentina in 2023.