Collinsville Mayor Jeff Stehman meets Pope Leo XIV

Collinsville Mayor Jeff Stehman, second from right in back, was part of a contingent from Illinois travelling to Italy recently (photo courtesy of the Illinois Municipal League)

by Randy Pierce • Collinsville Mayor Jeff Stehman had an opportunity to meet and converse with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV during the week that ended with Holy Thursday on April 2. 

Part of a group from Illinois travelling to Italy and Vatican City in late March and earlier this month, Stehman, accompanied by his wife Linda, and many other mayors represented this state in what was called a diplomacy mission and cultural exchange that included the papal visit.

This excursion was coordinated by the Illinois Municipal League, an organization advocating for the interests of 1,294 cities, villages and other local government units throughout the state.

The Illinois team which made this trip consisted of someone from the United States Embassy, three members of the IML staff and more than 20 mayors, including Mark Kupsky of Fairview Heights who, along with Stehman, were representatives of the two southernmost communities in the group. 

While overseas, Stehman and the others were able to see many historic sites and places of great religious significance including the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum in Rome and, also in Italy’s capital city, the Scala Sancta, or Holy Stairs, which are the 28 steps Jesus is said to have walked up for his trial before Pontius Pilate.

Included also among the sites seen were three embassy locations for the United States where global partnerships, building positive relationships and diplomacy were among the topics of discussion.  

Stehman was elected as Collinsville councilman in April of 2015 then re-elected four years later for another term of four years. He was elected mayor in April 2023 for a term to expire in April 2027.