‘I am Roman,’ Pope Leo says, as he becomes the bishop of Rome

Pope Leo XIV declared himself a Roman on Sunday, in a ceremonial step to formalizing his role as bishop of Rome.

The bishop of Rome is one of many titles held by the pope.

On his way to the St. John Lateran Basilica for the final steps to take on the role of bishop of Rome, the pope stopped at Piazza Venezia in the center of Rome to meet with the mayor of the city, Roberto Gualtieri.

Margaret Susan Thompson, a professor of history at Syracuse University whose research focuses on religion and politics, said Leo will not be “particularly involved in the day-to-day governing or administrative responsibility” as bishop of Rome. Those duties are usually delegated to an auxiliary or assistant bishop, known as a vicar, she said.

Regarding his statement declaring himself a Roman, Thompson said it was mostly “a symbolic gesture” rather than “a statement repudiating his United States or Peruvian citizenship.”

The pope was born in Chicago and spent two decades in Peru, where he gained citizenship.

Although the current pope is the first from the United States, the last three popes before him were not Italian either, noted Thompson. “It’s not a governing statement. It’s an important symbolic statement and pastoral statement.”