NYT: Pope Leo XIV fails to prove identity to US bank employee

Pope Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was told to visit a bank branch in person after failing to verify his identity over the phone, according to a friend who recounted the incident at a Catholic gathering in Naperville, Illinois.

Rev. Tom McCarthy said the exchange took place about two months after Prevost became pope in Vatican City. Speaking in a video clip shared on social media, McCarthy said the pope contacted his U.S. bank to update his phone number and address, the New York Times reports. 

“He said, ‘Well, I’m not going to be able to do that,’” Father McCarthy said in a video clip shared on social media, recounting the new pope’s growing frustration as the audience laughed. “I gave you all the security questions.”

According to McCarthy, the bank employee initially rejected the verification despite correct answers, telling him he would need to appear in person.

“Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?” he asked, according to Father McCarthy.

She hung up.

McCarthy said the issue was eventually resolved after another priest intervened through a connection with the bank’s president.

By Sabina Mammadli