Pope Leo XIV marvels at his 'huge learning curve' in an interview released on his 70th birthday

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV marveled at the “huge learning curve” he has taken on as pontiff and likened some aspects of the job to jumping “in on the deep end of the pool very quickly," in excerpts of an interview released Sunday on his 70th birthday.

The pope also lamented widening income gaps between the working class and CEOs, recalling the recent news that Elon Musk could be in line to become the world's first trillionaire.

“If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble," Leo said in the comments, the pope's first interview as history’s first American pope.

The comments came just a day after Musk's brother's company, Nova Sky Stories, staged a light show over the Vatican featuring 3,000 drones depicting images from the Sistine Chapel and even Pope Francis' face.

The interview was conducted this summer by Vatican correspondent Elise Ann Allen for her forthcoming biography of Leo. Excerpts were published Sunday on Allen’s Catholic news site Crux, and in the El Comercio daily of Peru.

In the excerpts, Leo spoke about feeling both American and Peruvian, given his dual citizenship and 20 years of missionary experience in Peru. He said that experience gave him great appreciation of the Latin American church and Pope Francis' ministry as history's first South American pope.

Asked whether he would root for the U.S. or Peru in a future World Cup, Leo drew parallels to his childhood in Chicago and the value of not shutting down opponents.

“Even at home, I grew up a White Sox fan, but my mother was a Cubs fan, so you couldn’t be one of those fans that shut out the other side,” he said. “We learned, even in sports, to have an open, dialogical, friendly and not angry competitive stance on things like that, because we might not have gotten dinner had we been!”

Francis promoted Leo to a top job at the Vatican in 2023, making clear he viewed him as a potential successor. Nevertheless Leo said he wasn’t fully prepared for the job.

“There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me,” he said, adding that he had found his footing as pastor, but that the challenge was the job as world leader.

“On that one I had to jump in on the deep end of the pool very quickly,” he said.

The interview was released Sunday as Leo marked his 70th birthday, which was celebrated at the Vatican during his traditional noon blessing.

Leo saw giant “Happy birthday” banners, in English, Italian and Spanish, balloons and congratulatory signs held up by the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Groups of Peruvian believers, including dancers in traditional attire, were out in force.

“Dear friends, it seems you know today I have turned 70,” Leo said to cheers. “I thank the Lord, my parents and all those who remembered me in their prayers.”

When he was elected last May at age 69, the former Robert Prevost was the youngest pope since 1978, when Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II at age 58.

Many people in the square knew it was Leo's birthday and wished him well, especially given the weight of responsibility he had taken on to run the Catholic Church.

“Well, he definitely needs a lot of support, because he has to carry on a pontificate during a particularly difficult period, both for geopolitical issues and certainly for internal matters," said Lorenzo Vecchio, a member of a Catholic university group in the piazza. “We are certainly happy that he is a very young pope.”

Associated Press video journalist Paolo Santalucia in Vatican City contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Drones compose light images over St. Peter basilica during a concert in St. Peter's Square for the conclusion of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity at the Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

An image of Pope Francis made by drones, hovers over the basilica in St. Peter's Square during a concert marking the conclusion of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, at the Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful from Peru take selfie photos near a statue of Jesus Nazareno Cautivo de Monsefu, before Pope Leo XIV appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful display a banner wishing happy 70th birthday to Pope Leo XIV as he appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful from Peru display a banner wishing happy 70th birthday to Pope Leo XIV with a statue of Jesus Nazareno Cautivo de Monsefu, as he appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV appears at his studio's window to bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus prayer, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was at the White House on Thursday discussing her country's future with President Donald Trump even after he publicly dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. His administration has signaled its willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and, along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela and sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was expecting a positive discussion during the lunchtime meeting and called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela.

The White House said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

Leavitt said Trump is committed to seeing Venezuela hold elections “one day,” but wouldn’t say when that might happen.

Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate later Thursday. Trump has called her “a nice woman” while indicating they might not touch on major issues in their talks Thursday.

Her Washington swing began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

The White House says Venezuela has been fully cooperating with the Trump administration since Maduro’s ouster.

Rodríguez, the acting president, herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move thought to have been made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump wanted to win himself. She has since thanked Trump. Her offer to share the peace prize with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)