Pope Leo XIV Accepts Liberty Medal, Urges U.S. to Welcome Immigrants in America's 250th Anniversary Address

On the eve of America's 250th birthday, Pope Leo XIV did something you don't see every day: the first American-born pope addressed a crowd in Philadelphia — live from the Vatican — to accept the 2026 Liberty Medal, and used the moment to make a pointed case for welcoming immigrants.

The Pope accepted the 2026 Liberty Medal in recognition of his commitment to religious freedom, delivering a virtual address to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 3rd. He spoke to a crowd representing more than 30 different religions, wearing the medal he had been presented earlier this year.

Who is Pope Leo XIV, exactly? Leo, 70, became the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church in May 2025, following the death of Pope Francis. Born Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago native and Villanova University graduate was ordained as a priest in 1982 and rose to the rank of cardinal in 2023.

In his speech, the Pope leaned heavily into America's founding story — but with a twist. He argued that in the past 250 years, what made America "a byword for freedom" for people around the world was the country opening "its doors to successive waves of immigrants, enabling them and their children to play their part in shaping the future of the nation." He also invoked the Declaration of Independence directly, praising the founders' assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The immigration message wasn't subtle — but it also wasn't a direct political attack. The Pope never mentioned the immigration crackdown imposed by the Trump administration, even as he said the United States' acceptance of "successive waves of immigrants" has "made America a byword for freedom." Still, the subtext was hard to miss given the backdrop. Leo spent years serving the church in Peru and has been outspoken about calling for international peace — positions that have put him at odds with President Trump's administration on migrants, the war in Iran, and more.

After the Philadelphia ceremony, the Pope made his Independence Day plans very clear. Leo declined an invitation from Trump to visit the United States to celebrate the 4th of July, and chose instead to travel to Lampedusa — a move that sends a stark message as the president pursues his mission of mass deportations. The Vatican framed the Lampedusa trip as a humanitarian pilgrimage honoring migrants who died attempting to reach Europe, continuing a tradition established by Pope Francis. There, he offered a gut-punch of imagery: among those buried in the island's migrant cemetery is Yusuf Ali Kanneh, a six-month-old who drowned in a migrant boat wreck in 2020.

As for the Liberty Medal itself — it's a prestigious award with some serious company. The medal was created in 1988 and has been hosted by the National Constitution Center since 2006, previously going to figures like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Bushes, Malala Yousafzai, and Thurgood Marshall. The center chose Leo specifically for "his lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world."

One logistical note: the speech was initially planned to be projected on Independence Mall, but was moved indoors due to extreme heat and livestreamed online.

Why does this matter to you? If you care about the direction of U.S. immigration policy, this is one of the most prominent moral voices on the planet — an American, no less — pushing back in real time. And he's doing it by wrapping the argument in the Founders' own words.