{"id":89883,"date":"2026-05-04T00:06:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T00:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/mario-lopez-recalls-incredible-meeting-with-pope-leo-xiv\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T00:06:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T00:06:49","slug":"mario-lopez-recalls-incredible-meeting-with-pope-leo-xiv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/mario-lopez-recalls-incredible-meeting-with-pope-leo-xiv\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Lopez Recalls \u2018Incredible\u2019 Meeting With Pope Leo XIV"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Saved By the Bell<\/em> star Mario Lopez<\/strong> will never forget meeting Pope Leo XIV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in Italy, I was working there for the Winter Olympics, and then we had a little honeymoon after just to go into Florence and Milan, Rome,\u201d Lopez, 52, exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em> on Friday, May 1, while attending Calamigos Ranch Resort & Spa\u2019s Leading Hotels of the World accreditation celebration. \u201cI just kind of worked some back channels to meet the Holy Father.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cWe got to go to mass. It was incredible. I\u2019ll never forget it. He blessed my cross, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, is the first pope to have been born in the United States. He became the head of the Catholic church and sovereign of Vatican City on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis<\/strong> at the age of 88.<\/p>\n

Lopez has been open about his Catholic faith, telling Us<\/em> on Friday that he has \u201cnever been reluctant to be vocal about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t want to push it on anyone by any means, but I\u2019m not ashamed if asked and I think it\u2019s important for family and to set structure and to have a great foundation,\u201d Lopez explained. \u201cFather Jim<\/strong> is our buddy \u2026 I talked to Stanley Tucci<\/strong> today because he was in the movie Conclave<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cMy kids go to Catholic school. It was important for us to have our kids have a faith based education. So they love it. It\u2019s great. And my daughter goes to an all girls Catholic school. So it works out well for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Pope Leo XIV\u2019s appointment, Catholic churches across the country have experienced an influx of believers, per The New York Times<\/em>. This Easter, the Archdiocese of Detroit received 1,428 new Catholics into the church \u2014 the highest number of new members the church welcomed in 21 years, per the outlet. Other archdiocese, from Houston, Texas, to Des Moines, Iowa, have experienced a similar trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our age of uncertainty, and in our age of great anxiety, is a thirst and hunger for God and stability that faith brings to people\u2019s lives,\u201d Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski<\/strong> of St. Louis, Missouri, told The New York Times<\/em> in March, adding that his church is reporting numbers they haven\u2019t seen since 2016.<\/p>\n

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