Chicago Mayor’s Vatican Visit Aims to Garner Support for Reparations

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has embarked on an effort to engage the pope in his advocacy for reparations in Chicago. During a recent trip to the Vatican, Johnson met with Pope Leo XIV as part of a delegation that included George Floyd family lawyer Antonio Romanucci. In a gesture of goodwill, Johnson presented the pope with various Chicago-themed apparel, including a Chicago Cubs hat.

“That’s an important conversation… Absolutely… Yes. I want to be very clear about that,” Johnson stated when asked about asking the pope for support.

Johnson’s visit ties into his initiative, Repair Chicago, which seeks to gather personal accounts of harm experienced by Black Chicagoans to provide reparations. In 2024, Johnson signed an executive order, forming a 40-member reparations task force to address historical injustices against Black residents and their ancestors.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Johnson wanted Pope Leo to use his influence to support local descendants of African American slaves. This plan aligns with the pope’s recent apology for the Vatican’s historical role in legitimizing slavery, a practice he described as a “wound in Christian memory.”

Johnson acknowledged this recognition of slavery’s harm by the pope and stressed that America’s prosperity is inseparable from the contributions of Black labor. Johnson emphasized that the conversation with Pope Leo would propel his agenda for reparations, drawing parallels between international support and local efforts in Springfield and City Council.

Repair Chicago intends to conduct bus tours, panel discussions, town halls, and hearings to gather public input for a reparations study. This initiative follows the appointment of Carla Kupe as chief equity officer to lead the reparations task force with a budget of $500,000.

Similar reparations programs have surfaced in other regions. For instance, Evanston became the first city to issue reparations directly to Black residents, offering $25,000 payments to cover housing expenses.