Even the Leader of 1.4 Billion Catholics Faces No Exceptions... Bank Customer Service Remains Firm

Requested to Update Contact Information with the Bank, But Was Turned Down

Answered All Security Questions, But Was Told "You Must Visit in Person"

Even the Pope, who leads the world’s Catholic faithful, is not exempt from identity verification procedures at bank customer service centers. A story has been revealed about Leo XIV, the American-born Pope, who called his hometown bank shortly after ascending to the papacy, only to be effectively turned away by a customer service representative.

On May 6 (local time), The New York Times (NYT) introduced an anecdote recently shared by Father Tom McCarthy, who is close to Leo XIV, at a Catholic gathering regarding the Pope.

Leo XIV is from Chicago, USA, and his real name is Robert Francis Prévost. According to the official Vatican biography, he was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Photo by AFP Yonhap News.

About two months after being elected Pope, Leo XIV called a bank in the South Chicago area of the United States in an attempt to update his registered phone number and address. He identified himself by his real name, Robert Francis Prevost, and answered each of the security questions requested by the representative. However, the representative informed him that, as part of the identity verification process, he would need to visit a branch in person.

The Pope explained, "That is not possible. Didn’t I answer all the security questions?" but the representative’s response did not change. Frustrated, the Pope asked, "Would it make a difference if I told you I am Pope Leo?" According to Father McCarthy, this remark appeared to backfire, as the representative hung up the phone. It is believed the representative may have thought it was a prank call.

The issue was later resolved when a priest from the Chicago area, who is close to the Pope, contacted the bank manager. Initially, the bank manager maintained, "That is our policy," but ultimately agreed to allow the contact information to be changed, reportedly saying, "We don’t want to lose the Pope’s account." Father McCarthy, who shared this story, jokingly commented, "Imagine how it would feel to be known as the woman who hung up on the Pope."

This was not the first time the Pope had to handle routine administrative matters himself after his election. In 2013, Pope Francis made headlines for personally settling his hotel bill and packing his own luggage shortly after his election. He also called a newspaper stand in his hometown of Buenos Aires to ask for his newspaper delivery to be discontinued, but at the time, the other party reportedly thought it was a prank call at first.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.