America Sets Sight on the Vatican with the Election of Pope Leo XIV

The election of Pope Leo XIV has reignited global attention on the Vatican, the world’s smallest country and yet its most influential religious destination. Robert Prevost was introduced as the new leader of the Catholic Church before a crowd of more than 100,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The nationality of the new pontiff signals a likely surge in American tourism to the Vatican. Leo XIV becomes the first Pope born in the United States, and only the second from the Americas, following Pope Francis I of Argentina. Prevost also has deep ties to Latin America, having lived in Peru for four decades as a missionary and bishop. Through his time there, he also obtained Peruvian nationality.

Although the Vatican’s borders are not regulated by customs or immigration controls, the city-state typically welcomes around seven million visitors annually. With the naming of the new Pope, a spike in travelers from the United States is widely anticipated, driven by both cultural admiration and religious devotion.

The U.S. as a Strategic Source of Catholic Tourism

The United States currently ranks as the fourth-largest Catholic population in the world, trailing only the Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil. While Protestantism remains the dominant denomination in the U.S., approximately 23% of American Christians identify as Catholic.

Italy, and by extension the Vatican, is already a favored destination among American tourists. In 2022, over 3.6 million Americans traveled to Italy, and in 2023, the country emerged as the fourth most visited international destination for U.S. travelers.

Since the passing of Pope Francis I, the Vatican has seen a significant uptick in visitors, with up to 30,000 people per day entering the city-state in the weeks leading up to the conclave. On April 7, the day the papal election began, more than 400,000 visitors descended upon the Vatican — a record-breaking number that may soon be matched amid growing fascination with Pope Leo XIV.

With this new chapter, the Vatican is poised to become an even more vital hub for international religious tourism, especially for Americans, who now see in the new Pope a spiritual and cultural connection closer than ever before.