India, Oct. 30 -- Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born leader of the Catholic Church, has cast his ballot in the US midterm elections through a mail-in vote submitted in Chicago, the Vatican confirmed on Friday.

The vote marks the first known instance of a sitting pope participating in a political election.

The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, who has had disagreements with US President Donald Trump, believes in "the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," the Vatican said in a statement.

The Chicago-born pontiff "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so," the statement added.

"The Holy See Press Office confirms that, in keeping with this...