Originally appeared on E! Online
Harry Styles has been praying ever since New York the Vatican.
Among the thousands of spectators who gathered in Vatican City to watch Pope Leo XIV — born Robert Francis Prevost — step onto the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square to assume his new role as leader of the Catholic church was a familiar face.
Indeed, the “Watermelon Sugar” singer was spotted casually sporting his signature mustache, a blue jacket, sunglasses and a gray hat with “Techno is My Boyfriend” embroidered on the front, as seen in a photo shared to X by @NisaKanat18.
papa’nın ilanını San Pietro meydanında izlerken yanımdan Harry Styles geçti göz göze geldik hemen fotoğrafladım bu anıyı what a day ya pic.twitter.com/XhkyaY3UYR
— niss (@NisaKanat18) May 8, 2025
“Little did the pope know he was waving to Harry Styles,” one user joked on X, while a viral parody account dedicated to the most meme-worthy conclave news quipped, “He’s a Pope Crave correspondent.”
“Harry Styles is so random,” another user wrote. “One day he’s at the Grammys winning Album of the Year, then he’s running a marathon in Japan, but he could also be in Rome waiting for the announcement of the new pope.”
READ: Who is Pope Leo XIV: What to know about American Cardinal Robert Prevost
As for the first-ever pope from the United States — who likely had no idea he was in the presence of a One Direction alum — the Chicago native was elected just one day after the College of Cardinals gathered for a conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor.
Following the Vatican’s traditional nine days of mourning called the Novendiales, 133 cardinals — all under the age of 80 — voted in the secret election until they reached a two-thirds majority agreement on who they would elect as the new pontiff.
And after a Vatican official burned the paper ballots to make white smoke rise from a chimney, signaling a decision had been made, the new pope’s brother, John Prevost, detailed his final conversation with Pope Leo before he was sequestered with the other cardinals.
Spoiler alert: the 2024 film “Conclave,” starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci, was a hot topic of discussion.
“I said, ‘Did you watch the movie ‘Conclave’ so you know how to behave?’” John recalled in an interview with NBC Chicago. “And, he had just finished watching the movie ‘Conclave.’ So, he knew how to behave.”
“I wanted to take his mind off of it,” he added. “You know, laugh about something because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
And all jokes aside, John expressed that he has full faith that his brother will honor his new responsibilities while implementing “middle of the road” policies.
“The best way I could describe him right now is that he will be following in Francis’ footsteps,” he told the New York Times. “They were very good friends. They knew each other before he was pope, before my brother even was bishop.”
Pope Leo XIV was elected on day two, making this one of the fastest conclaves in modern history. But the shortest ever? That happened in 1503 and lasted just a few hours.
