Braden Cusick spent his 18th birthday standing in line before sunrise in Vatican City, hoping just to catch a glimpse of Pope Leo XIV. Instead, the Oklahoma teenager walked away with a personal birthday greeting from the pope himself, a blessed rosary, and a video that quickly spread across TikTok.
Cusick traveled to Rome with his family and celebrated his birthday there on August 5, according to KOCO. He had learned Pope Leo XIV would be at Vatican City that day and wanted to see him in person, so he and his family got in line around 6 a.m. They ended up seated in an aisle seat inside St. Peter's Basilica, where the pope's weekly general audience was held that week. According to EWTN News, the August 5 audience took place inside the basilica rather than in St. Peter's Square because of intense summer heat in Rome.
A Birthday Greeting Inside St. Peter's Basilica
After the service, Pope Leo XIV walked down the aisle where the Cusick family was seated, KOCO reports. Cusick told the pope it was his birthday and that he was from Oklahoma. The pope asked where in Oklahoma he was from, then, per ChurchPOP, replied, “Tulsa or Oklahoma City?” before saying, “Oh, happy birthday,” and handing Cusick a red item containing a rosary.
ChurchPOP's account adds that the pope's second personal secretary, Fr. Marco Billeri, stepped in to retrieve the blessed rosary for the teen. Billeri, an Italian priest and canon lawyer, was appointed to that role in September 2025 to assist with daily administrative duties and papal audiences, according to Rome Reports. Gifting blessed rosaries during public gatherings and general audiences is a devotion Pope Leo XIV has continued from his predecessors, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh notes.
Cusick posted a video of the encounter to TikTok and described it, per the KOCO article, as an unbelievable experience he would remember for the rest of his life.
Why the Pope Knew Oklahoma Geography
The pope's quick follow-up question about Tulsa versus Oklahoma City wasn't a random guess. Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, has direct ties to Oklahoma: he previously served on the Board of Directors at Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa and frequently visited the state while serving as Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Midwest Province, according to a press release from the Oklahoma State Senate. Lawmakers took note of that history back in May 2025, when the Oklahoma House of Representatives introduced House Concurrent Resolution 1018 to formally honor his election and recognize his past service and visits to Tulsa, per legislative records from BillTrack50.
Prevost was elected the 267th pope on May 8, 2025, becoming the first American pontiff in history, according to Rutgers University. Hoodline previously reported on his Oklahoma connections when Oklahoma officials celebrated his historic election.
A Tribal Youth Leader From Verdigris
Back home, Cusick is heading into his senior year at Verdigris High School, a small school in Claremore serving roughly 400 students in grades 9 through 12, where American Indian students make up its largest minority group, according to demographic data from Niche. He's also a member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Youth Council, serving as the District 13 Youth Councilor representing youth in Tulsa and Rogers counties, per Cherokee Nation records.
The Tribal Youth Council itself has deep roots, having been established under Resolution 80-89 in October 1989 under Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller to foster leadership, civic involvement, and cultural preservation among young Cherokee citizens. For Cusick, a teenager already engaged in civic leadership at home, the unplanned moment with the pope in Rome added an unexpected chapter to an 18th birthday he's unlikely to forget.
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