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American-born Pope Leo XIV officially received the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Friday.
As Vatican News reports, a delegation from the Center had a private audience with the pope in April to present him with the Liberty Medal to honor his efforts to promote religious freedom and expression throughout the world.
In a remote acceptance address to those gathered at the Center on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Leo referred to himself as “a son of this great country” that was “founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children.”
The pope continued:
I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice and peace.
“From our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Leo said, adding “that claim is ultimately grounded in an understanding of the human person inspired by the great biblical vision of man and woman being created in the divine image.”
In commenting on America’s central love of freedom, Pope Leo said “[i]t was this same love of freedom that inspired the United States, in the darkest hours of the last century, at the time of the two world wars, to look beyond itself and, at great sacrifice, to champion the cause of freedom beyond its own borders.”
“As every American knows, however, the path to building a society that would embody those high ideals of liberty and justice for all was not always easy, and in many respects is still a work in progress,” he added.
The pope reminded Americans that the [f]irst right enshrined by the nation’s founders was the right to life,” since only the living are able to enjoy freedom and pursue happiness.
“The inherent worth of every human life has led the noble hearts of generations to praise the marvelous works of the Creator and stand in reverence before so precious a gift,” he said, adding that “it’s precisely this reverence that we must continue to cultivate, one that sways the hearts of individuals and inspires laws that recognize and safeguard the gifts from the moment of conception to natural death.”
Pope Leo also observed that “America has long championed the religious freedom necessary to follow responsibly the dictates of conscience in this regard, free from fear and coercion, as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
He said that the same freedom “that holds sacred the inner sphere of the person, where convictions are formed and where conscience can guide the decisions made in the intimacy of the human heart,” also “ensures the right of every person to worship according to one’s own belief, and of individuals, communities, and associations to give public expression to their faith.”
Leo continued that the very religious freedom so valued by the nation’s founders ultimately “gave rise to the American tradition of allowing for interfaith dialog and inter-religious cooperation in promoting the public good and enriching the debates on the great moral and ethical issues that have faced the nation and shaped the course of its history.”
“It is my hope that this tradition will continue to bear fruit in a public discourse marked by moderation, respect for the views of others, and an ongoing effort to find common ground in promoting the cause of peace and reconciliation at home and abroad,” he said.
The pope also penned a separate letter in which he extended his “heartfelt congratulations to all Americans” on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, one that “marks that defining moment in the history of the United States of America, July 4, 1776, that gave enduring voice to the ideals of liberty, equality, the pursuit of happiness, justice and democratic self-government.”
“In assuring all of you of my prayers in your renewed efforts to strengthen the nation in the principles that guided its Founding Fathers, I entrust you to the intercession of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of this country, that she will continue to watch over America and protect all who dwell therein,” Pope Leo wrote.
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