A Chicago bank employee reportedly hung up on Pope Leo XIV after thinking someone was playing a prank over the phone.
The story was recounted by Mr. John Prevost—the Pope’s brother—on a CNN program this Wednesday.
According to Mr. Prevost, the incident occurred when Pope Leo XIV called the bank to update his new address at the Vatican just a few months after his papacy began.
Initially, the bank employee asked for verification of various personal details, including:
social security number,
account number,
old address,
along with many other security questions.
After answering all the questions, the Pope was told he had to visit the bank in person to finalize the changes to his records.
Mr. Prevost said that at that point, he told the employee:
“Maybe you should know you're talking to my brother, who is currently in Rome… you're talking to the Pope.”
However, the woman replied:
“Oh, really?”
and immediately hung up.
According to Mr. Prevost, the bank employee thought it was a common “prank call” in the U.S. and didn't believe him.
Later, a local priest helped resolve the issue for the Pope.
The identity of the bank involved has not yet been disclosed.
A friend of the Pope, Father Tom McCarthy, later also shared the story with a group of parishioners in Illinois and joked:
“Imagine how it feels to be the woman who hung up on the Pope.”
