Pope Leo XIV opened a virtual meeting with American Catholic young people on Friday by revealing a closely held pontifical secret: He uses a different Wordle start word each day.

Leo divulged his strategy playing the popular New York Times online game before fielding questions via videoconference about artificial intelligence, social media and the future of the Catholic Church.

Leo was hooked up from the Vatican to speak remotely to the National Catholic Youth Conference, an annual Catholic rally held this year in Indianapolis, via a feed from US Catholic broadcaster EWTN.

After Leo’s election in May, his brother John Prevost revealed that Leo plays Wordle every day and that the brothers compare notes, as many friends and family do.

Leo was asked about his strategy at the start of Friday’s Q&A, which was otherwise somewhat scripted. Playing along, Leo revealed "I use a different word for Wordle every day, so there’s no set starting word."

The simple, free online puzzle lets players guess a five-letter word in six tries with no hints and has millions of daily players around the world. (AP)