Pontifical secret revealed: Pope Leo XIV changes his Wordle start word each day

Pope Leo XIV opened a virtual meeting with American Catholic young people Friday by revealing a closely held pontifical secret: He uses a different Wordle start word each day.

- BY NICOLE WINFIELD

Leo divulged his strategy for the popular New York Times online game before fielding questions via videoconference about artificial intelligence, social media and the future of the Catholic Church.

The Chicago-born pope was hooked up from the Vatican to speak remotely to the National Catholic Youth Conference, an annual Catholic rally held this year in Indianapolis, via a feed from U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN.

After Leo’s election in May, his brother John Prevost revealed that Leo plays Wordle every day and that the brothers compare scores, as many friends and family do.