Pope Leo’s 3 A.M. Duolingo Habit Surprises Fans — and Inspires Them

While his Wordle streak made headlines, it’s his late-night language lessons that show the world’s most powerful man is still a student.

Pope Leo XIV has already charmed the world with his down-to-earth hobbies — it’s well known that he played Wordle daily with his brother right up until his historic election.

Yet, less has been written about another of Leo’s tech-age habits: a Duolingo binge that recently sent curious fans into a frenzy.

The newly elected pope apparently can’t resist the lure of language lessons, even amid the weighty responsibilities of the papacy.

In the months following his election, observant users noticed something unusual on the language-learning app Duolingo.

A profile bearing Leo’s birth name Robert suddenly sprang back to life after years of inactivity, racking up astonishing progress.

One stunned user quipped that he opened the app and saw “Robert earned 30,000 XP,” only to click the name and realize he’d “just high-fived the Pope” — evidence that Leo had embarked on a marathon language practice session.

It turns out Pope Leo had previously been learning German on the app, and now, for his new role, he had added an Italian course (likely polishing the language of the Vatican) and plowed through dozens of lessons in a short span.

The Pope even logged in around 3:00 AM Rome time on this morning for a quick lesson, a fact not lost on fans. “Holy Father, it is 3am, what are you doing,” one bemused observer joked on social media, marveling at Leo’s late-night study streak.

Like many public figures dabbling in popular apps, Pope Leo has struggled to keep his activity out of public view.

His Duolingo exploits became very public very quickly, echoing other moments when leaders’ private habits spilled into the open.

For instance, tech-savvy sleuths famously discovered Joe Biden’s Venmo account in under 10 minutes, exposing his contacts and raising security concerns.

And in a social media mishap last month, President Donald Trump accidentally posted a direct message intended for Pam Bondi on his public Truth Social feed, calling for the indictment of his political opponents James Comey and Letitia James.

Bondi complied with both of those illegal demands within days.

These episodes, like Leo’s Duolingo reveal, highlight how even the most powerful figures can leave digital footprints for the world to see.

In Pope Leo’s case, the reaction has been more amused than alarmed.

His nighttime language drills and puzzle-playing persona paint a picture of a scholarly, light-hearted leader who unwinds with the same apps as millions of others.

It humanizes the pope: here is a 70-year-old polyglot pontiff earnestly chasing high scores and streaks. Leo’s former Vatican colleagues have noted his love of word games, so his Duolingo habit fits right in with his penchant for linguistics and lifelong learning.

In an era when the faithful can track the pope’s progress on a language app, Leo XIV is proving to be as relatable as he is resourceful — a world leader who prays by day and practices verb conjugations by night, red-eye hour and all.

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