Trump recently joked he would like to be the pope as the Vatican prepares to vote for the next pontiff following Pope Francis’ death last month.

In a historic moment for the nearly 2,000-year-old Catholic Church, the first-ever pope from the United States was elected on Thursday. President Donald Trump took to social media to congratulate the newly elected Pope Leo XIV — formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — calling it a "great honor" for the United States to have its first pope.

Robert Francis Prevost, who was born in Chicago and attended Villanova University, was elected as the new pope on Thursday and chose Leo XIV as his papal name.

As a U.S. citizen, the man formerly called Cardinal Robert Prevost technically is required to file returns to the IRS.

Pope Leo XIV, now the successor of St. Peter, leads the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church in a sacred role that few others will ever hold