Pope Leo XIV said Friday that he was "proud to be an American and to exercise the right" to vote in U.S. midterm elections that gave control of Congress to the Democrats in a repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies.

Meeting with journalists en route to Latin America, Leo declined to comment on the outcome of the vote and pointed to a statement that the Vatican issued last week in confirming he had submitted a mail-in ballot in his hometown near Chicago.

In the Oct. 30 statement, the Vatican said that Leo had voted "whenever he was eligible to do so" as evidence of his belief in civic participation.