Blacks celebrate Pope Leo XIV's Creole lineage from New Orleans
MANILA, Philippines — The new leader of the Catholic Church has a distinction that goes beyond being the first pope from the United States.
Records obtained by the New York Times found that Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans, Louisiana.
His maternal grandparents lived in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans (a historially Black neighborhood) before moving to Chicago in the early 1900s. Prevost and his brothers were born in Chicago, and one of them still resides there.
A family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection further shared on Facebook that the couple were listed as Black in census records but passed as White, adding they were indeed "people of color, no doubt about it."
The Holy Father's brother John, the one still in Chicago, confirmed the family's Creole lineage but never discussed it nor saw it as an issue.
The Louisiana Creole is a Louisiana French ethnic group descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana during French and Spanish rule before becoming a part of the United States.
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Incumbent New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement the city was "thrilled to welcome Pope Leo XIV, who embodies morality, unity, and inclusivity" after hearing of his Creole roots.
"We look forward to building a strong relationship with our new pope and working together toward creating a more compassionate and just society," she added.
Congressman Troy Carter, whose district covers New Orleans, released his own statement, saying he was proud "as a Black man" and "a proud son of New Orleans" to share some background with Leo XIV.
The pope never lived in New Orleans, but a trip there would mark the first papal visit since Pope John Paul II in 1987.
Prevost was elected as the successor to Pope Francis earlier this month, choosing the name Leo in honor of the last pope that took that name who pioneered in Catholic social teaching, particularly on workers' rights, and condemned slavery in two papal documents.
His decades-long ministry in Peru led to his acquisition of dual citizenship, making him the first pope to hold such a status.
RELATED: Meet Pope Leo XIV: Mathematician, multilingual, with roots in the Americas
