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Robert Francis Prevost, who was selected as the Catholic Church’s first American pope Thursday and took the name Leo XIV, has a family history that some were celebrating as uniquely diverse, with one genealogist claiming he has ties to “free people of color” in New Orleans. Key Facts The maternal side of Pope Leo XIV’s family can be traced back to at least the 1840s among “free people of color” in New Orleans, according to Jari C. Honora, a genealogist with the Historic New Orleans Collection, a research center documenting the city’s history. Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., who represents New...

Why pick the first American Pope now? Robert Prevost was made Pope Leo XIV as a counterweight to President Trump. There’s been little ambiguity about the new pope’s politics and less about the overall agenda. Pope Francis had all but rigged the process to assure another radical successor.

Robert Francis Prevost, now Leo XIV, was named the first American pope of the Catholic Church on Thursday — and his lineage traces back to New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a local genealogist and historian. When Honora heard the last name "Prevost," he started digging, on the odd chance Leo XIV's paternal line might be French Canadian or Acadian with Louisiana ties. What he found, to his surprise, was that Prevost's mother, Mildred Martinez, was the one with familial cords to the city. In less than an hour, Honora — who works as a historian for The Historic New...

Social media posts from Robert Prevost, newly named Pope Leo XIV, show recent criticism of the Trump administration's immigration policies. Why It Matters President Donald Trump's push for mass deportations has been getting held up in courts nationwide. Within the first 100 days of his second term, the president invoked the Alien Enemies Act, granting him authority to deport and detain noncitizens. The implementation was originally blocked in court. What To Know Prevost, 69, on Thursday became the first American pope selected by the Catholic Church. He was a missionary, then a Vatican official after spending years in Peru as...

Former President Obama congratulated Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, on his selection as the next pontiff for the Roman Catholic Church. “Michelle and I send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,’ Obama wrote in a Thursday post on X. “This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith,” he added. Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru. He is...

Catholics, habemus papam! White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel early in the evening, and now Catholics have their pope: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago, the first American pope, though he's also a Peruvian citizen. He takes the name Pope Leo XIV. The decision took around 24 hours and saw Prevost's election on the fourth vote. Some background on Pope Leo XIV: Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981 ... His career in the Church has been marked...

A new pope has been named, and for Villanova University and Philadelphia, the pope might be a familiar face and name. Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, is a class of 1977 Villanova University graduate, earning his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. The new pope, a 69-year-old Augustinian friar, was one of the 21 new cardinals selected by Pope Francis. According to Villanova University, Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. Following his undergraduate studies at Villanova, Pope Leo XIV earned a Master of Divinity degree...

Vatican City — Of the 266 popes who have led the Catholic Church, not one of them had been from the United States. Until Thursday. The cardinal electors gathered for the papal conclave elected an American from among their own ranks on Thursday to serve as the new pontiff. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected and accepted his fate as the next Bishop of Rome, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He chose Leo XIV as his papal name. While the relative youth of the nation, fewer than 20 of the church's previous popes had served after the U.S....

White smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday, signaling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers.

His last retweet, on April 14, slams the Trump administration's deportation of undocumented migrant and Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. The post reads: 'Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?' Pope Leo XIV also shared several articles that address Catholic JD Vance's stance on immigration. One of them is titled: 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.'

WORLD — With the announcement of the election of Pope Leo XIV, Catholics around the globe were reportedly frantically googling the new pontiff to find out if he's Catholic. Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, originally from Chicago, Illinois, became the first American to be selected to serve as Pope, leading devout members of the church to quickly look up his background to find out if he was also the first Catholic to serve in the position in over a decade. "It'll be a great chance of pace if he is," said lifelong Catholic Dave Battaglia. "Throwing in some variety every now...

An American Pope Leo 14th

[Catholic Caucus] Tagle, Parolin and now Prevost, all Bergoglians too tainted by their record to be PopePrevost does not deny accusations of cover-up and regrets that information from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has been publishedRome. Yesterday afternoon, while the eyes of the entire Church are focused on the upcoming conclave, InfoVaticana had an unexpected meeting with Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and widely considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Francis.The Cardinal criticized InfoVaticana for publishing the full report detailing the serious accusations of cover-up of sexual abuse during his time...

... Among the men who will determine whether the Catholic church will continue in the direction of pastoral service for all modeled by Francis, the first pope from South America — or whether it will swing back to a conservative interpretation focusing on church authority — are three influential American bishops tied to Chicago. Cardinal Blase Cupich, 75, was appointed archbishop of Chicago in 2014 by Francis and remains in the pope’s inner circle. Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, has served as Francis’ powerful bishopmaker at the Vatican since 2023, after stints leading the Order of Augustine’s Midwest ministry...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Pope Francis reportedly set to ask Bishop Strickland to resignBishop Strickland has been widely praised by faithful Catholics for his promotion of traditional Catholic teaching.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis met with Vatican officials over the weekend to discuss asking Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, to resign, according to a report on Monday by The Pillar.Pope Francis met on Saturday with Archbishop Robert Prevost, OSA, the head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.The Pillar reported that several sources close to the dicastery told the outlet ahead...