On May 8, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the Roman Catholic Church had elected a new leader. The world awaited the announcement of the new pope — including Harry Styles, who was apparently at the Vatican on the historic day. Pope Leo XIV became the first American pontiff in history, and St. Peter’s square had quite the crowd of cheering supporters. Among the thousands of people anticipating the next leader of the papacy was Styles, former One Direction member and singer of the hit single “As It Was.”
It’s unclear what Styles was doing in Rome, but it appears that he’s anywhere but the studio. He moves in mystery and silence (I wish I had his level of nonchalant), as he’s been out of the limelight since his last album release, Harry’s House in 2022, and the subsequent tour — Love On Tour — that concluded in July 2023.
In Rome, Styles was spotted in the square wearing a dark blue jacket, sunglasses, and a gray baseball cap that read, “Techno is my boyfriend.” (If you’re as obsessed with the hat as I am, the hat is from Idea and unfortunately sold out, but a restock may be coming soon.)
Chicago-native Pope Leo XIV is having his pop culture moment, with memes of American patriotism and Chicago pride flooding my social media algorithm. Styles celebrating the new pope is also becoming somewhat of a meme itself on X. If you and your friends are also waiting for the HS4 album drop, here are some memes to send them to get through this Harry Style drought together.
While Styles hasn’t done many public appearances in the last few years, he was spotted in Tokyo earlier in 2024 running a marathon, and he joined a group of people running in London on April 9. I can only hope that running is what’s inspiring Styles’s next album. (For real, where’s the music?!)