ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV prayed Friday for the United States to recommit itself to its founding ideals of protecting life and human dignity as he participated remotely in an event on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
History’s first U.S.-born pope recalled America’s tradition of welcoming migrants and promoting religious freedom during a live video appearance at the National Constitution Center, which provides a nonpartisan platform for constitutional education and debate.
The Philadelphia-based center gave Leo its annual Liberty Medal, which is awarded each year to someone “of courage and conviction” who promotes liberty around the world. The center honored Leo this year for his “lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world — ideals enshrined by America’s founders in the First Amendment.”
Wearing the medal around his neck, Leo spoke to the center from Rome on the eve of the anniversary. He planned to spend July 4 itself at a symbolically significant location, given the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants: the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, the destination of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict, hardship and poverty.
Trump and Leo have clashed over Leo’s insistence that migrants be treated with dignity, welcomed and accompanied, as called for by the Gospel mandate to “welcome the stranger.”
Leo referred to America’s foundation by “courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children,” in asserting that all men and women are created equal and enjoy certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
He referred to migrants in recalling the “noble vision” of the Founding Fathers that had made America “a byword for freedom, as the country opened 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 recalled the founding ideal enshrining the right to life in the Declaration of Independence, in asserting that every man and woman enjoys human dignity, and must be protected from conception until natural death – Vatican terminology opposing abortion and euthanasia.
“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to support, protect and cherish the lives of all, especially the most vulnerable and those whose worth is questioned,” he said.
The Chicago-born Leo prayed that the ideals that founded America of a shared human dignity, equality and fundamental rights may be a “guiding light" now and in the future.
May this year’s 250th anniversary “be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart,” he said.
Past recipients of the Liberty Medal include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, the late civil rights leader.
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.
Pope Leo XIV delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV waves during the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
FILE - Pope Leo XIV delivers his blessing as he visits Pavia's Cathedral, northern Italy, on June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Festivities commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence ramped up across the United States on Friday as demonstrations of national pride — and hints of political polarization — were balanced with efforts to stay safe as much of the country baked under extreme heat.
President Donald Trump will travel to South Dakota to deliver a speech and watch fireworks at Mount Rushmore. And in a novel twist, there will be a ball drop in New York City's Times Square at midnight to usher in the July Fourth holiday with much the same revelry that is typically reserved for New Year’s Eve.
The sound of fighter jets on military flyovers shook the nation's capital. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered his own address on the country’s 250th anniversary that cast America as a nation of contradictions “working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived.”
“The frontier may be closed, we may have walked on the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, that work endures, and it belongs to us all," Mamdani said, sitting behind George Washington’s desk at City Hall and surrounded by a diverse group of recently naturalized citizens.
In Washington, Glenn Brooks, who was pardoned by Trump for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, said he was “thankful to be participating in this grand event.”
“I love DC,” said Brooks, of Vero Beach, Florida, while taking a break from the heat with his siblings inside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. “I love the fact we’re doing it right.”
The activity culminates in the main event Saturday, when fireworks will erupt in communities across the U.S., along with backyard cookouts and block parties. Trump will deliver another speech at the National Mall in Washington before what is being billed as a historically massive fireworks show.
But for all the celebrations, there are also serious safety considerations as potentially record heat grips much of the Midwest and East Coast. Officials have warned those celebrating the holiday to stay hydrated and take air-conditioned breaks as needed.
Philadelphia canceled its Salute to Independence parade Friday. Several Washington suburbs scrapped or postponed their fireworks because of the extreme heat.
Parade organizers had been planning to shorten the route and move up the start time before deciding to cancel. The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for much of the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast from eastern Kansas to southern Maine, including the cities of St. Louis, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
Amtrak canceled some trains in the Northeast due to excessive heat that could affect the tracks.
The weather service said peak heat indexes, which combine air temperature with humidity, of up to 115 Fahrenheit (46.11 Celsius) are possible.
Organizers of celebrations in Washington said they were adding water stations along with cooling resources and medical support. The concert Friday, a staple of Washington's Independence Day traditions, is on, but the gates will open to the public later than usual, at 7 p.m. EDT, an hour before the show.
The holiday is unfolding at a unique time in the U.S. The anniversary has served as an opportunity for the country to reflect on its history while also reminding it of the political polarization of the moment.
Even the celebrations themselves have not quite escaped the divide.
In New York, Mamdani, a Democrat, did not mention Trump by name, but parts of his speech appeared aimed at the president’s divisive rhetoric.
“For generation after generation, we have been told that when the world has sent its people to our shores, it has not sent its best,” Mamdani said in an apparent reference to an a common criticism from Trump. “Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them."
Freedom 250, an organization aligned with the White House, has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago. Freedom 250 has organized much of the activity in Washington, including the Great American State Fair, which has gained attention for the relatively small crowds it has attracted. America250 is behind the ball drops unfolding in many cities, including New York, and will host a concert in Los Angeles on Saturday.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel “proud” about the country’s 250th anniversary, according to an April survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 3 in 10 said “excited” describes their emotions.
Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano, in Topeka, Kansas, sized up “what makes us awesome” as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience.
“We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle.
Christina Zhou, a 25-year-old research assistant from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she would aim to “think about just things that are happening locally.”
“It feels a little bit more like within our own personal control," she said.
And in Washington, Karen Brooks, a retiree from Eureka, California, was joining her brother Glenn Brooks in the Smithsonian to take a break from the heat.
“It’s history in the making and we want to take it in,” she said of the celebration. “I am so thankful to be born in this country. Liberty is thriving and we will continue to fight for it."
Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in New York, John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., Michael Casey in Cambridge, Mass., and Calvin Woodward and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.
A military jet does a flyover of the National Mall, Thursday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Fencing surrounds the area for the America 250 celebration near the Washington Monument on the National Mall, Thursday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani talks with a group of recently naturalized US citizens after he delivered a speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States at City Hall on Friday July 3, 2026 in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) does a flyover of the National Mall, Thursday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States at City Hall on Friday, July 3, 2026 in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and U.S. Capitol are seen at dawn as joggers run past an overlook in Arlington, Va., Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Visitors react to the heat while attending the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
A member of the Texas State Troopers pours cold water over his head during an extreme head advisory near the Lincoln Memorial, while providing extra security ahead of the America 250 July 4th celebration, Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Statue of Liberty stands next to Empire State Building, left, in New York, as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Sunday, May 31, 2026 (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Drones put on a show in the sky near independence hall in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Auresto)
