The life of Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, came into focus Friday as the world digs into the past of the first American leader of the Catholic Church.
Leo, 69, grew up on Chicago’s South Side and had a childhood like many Americans before he moved up the church ranks. He was ordained a priest in 1982 after joining the Order of St. Augustine, and he spent two decades as a missionary in Peru.
Now he’s possibly the most famous man in the world. Here are some things to know about him.
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He’s a ‘die-hard’ White Sox fan
A longtime family friend of Leo described him as a “die-hard” Chicago White Sox fan who even attended a World Series game in 2005, the last time the franchise won a championship. He was photographed at the World Series game wearing a Sox jersey and smirking as he held a cellphone to his ear. His older brother, John Prevost, corrected erroneous reports, including one from ABC News, that emerged Thursday claiming the pope was a fan of his hometown’s other MLB team, the Chicago Cubs. “He was never, ever a Cubs fan,” Prevost clarified. “So I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan.” The pope even took time out of his busy first hours to clear up the confusion, with The Washington Post reporting he texted the Augustinian friar Joseph Farrell a one-word answer when asked about his fandom: “Sox.”
He may be considered the ‘first Black pope’
The National Catholic Reporter reported that Leo has Spanish, Italian, French, and African-Creole ancestry, with his mom’s side descending from a Black community in New Orleans. Citing U.S. Census records, the outlet said his mother, Mildred Martínez, was the mixed-race daughter of Black property owners in New Orleans who moved to Chicago in the early 20th century. Joseph Martínez, his grandfather on his mother’s side, was reportedly born in Haiti, and his grandmother, Louise Baquié, was a Creole. Leo has not spoken publicly about his ancestry, but the National Catholic Reporter writes that it may lead to him being known as the “first Black pope in the history of the Catholic Church.”
He was a little brother with big plans
John Prevost, Leo’s older brother, said the new pope is the youngest of three who had a “normal childhood” together. They were raised Catholic by a school superintendent father and a school librarian mother in Chicago’s Dolton neighborhood. John Prevost, a 71-year-old retired Catholic school principal, told the Daily Herald he always desired a career in education while their eldest sibling, Louis, wanted to join the military. Leo, meanwhile, “knew he was going to be a priest from the time he could walk,” John Prevost said. Others recognized that Leo was “papabile” early on, too. “A neighbor once said he was going to be pope someday,” Prevost said. “How’s that for a prognostication?”
Republican primary voter—but not MAGA
Records show Leo voted in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014, and 2016, but only voted in the general elections in 2018 and 2024. Matt Knee, the chief data officer at conservative data science firm Pulse Decision Science, told the Daily Beast the pope’s voting record fits the profile of a “former or Never Trump-type ex-Republican.” His recent social media posts back up that theory, as Leo recently criticized Vice President JD Vance by name on his X account and reshared a post critical of President Donald Trump. “JD Vance is wrong,” Leo posted in February. “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” His brother John Prevost further confirmed Leo’s beliefs in an interview with The New York Times on Friday. “I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration,” Prevost said. “I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
‘Least American’ of the Americans
Leo is the first American pope, but Vatican insiders say his path to the papacy was partly because he was the “least American” of the 10 U.S. cardinals eligible to vote for the next pontiff. This description first emerged in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, which noted Leo had extensive experience outside the U.S. and is perceived as having a softer, more globalized approach than his American counterparts. Leo was not among the favorites to emerge as pope entering the conclave, as much of the world, including bookmakers and Vatican experts, projected it would be either the Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle or one of the well-known Italian cardinals, like Pietro Parolin, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, or Matteo Zuppi.
A favorite of Pope Francis
CNN’s Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb said this week that the late Pope Francis “respected” Leo “and thought of him very highly.” Francis appointed Leo to be a cardinal in 2023, assigning him the title Diaconate of Saint Monica. “Clearly Pope Francis saw in him something—he saw him as a capable leader,” said Lamb, who added that Leo came across as “a very thoughtful person, a very measured person.” Other Francis supporters have pointed to Leo’s victory—and the speed with which it was reached—as proof that Francis left the church united. “It is clear from the speed with which Pope Leo’s election was done that Pope Francis had left the church more united than naysayers would give him credit for,” the British Cardinal Arthur Roche told CNN.
He’s a dual national—and a polyglot
Leo speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German, according to the National Catholic Reporter. That will allow him to speak the native tongue of most of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, whom he is now tasked with leading. The pope showcased his language skills in his first address at the Vatican, speaking to a massive crowd at St. Peter’s Square in Spanish and Italian, but not English. He delivered a Mass on Friday in English, Spanish, and Italian, however, and is sure to continue showing off his polyglot prowess. A native English speaker, of course, Leo likely perfected his Spanish while working as a missionary for two decades in Peru, a South American nation he became a dual citizen of in 2015.
He attended Villanova to study... mathematics?
The pope is a Wildcat. In 1977, Leo graduated from Villanova University, a Catholic institution in Philadelphia known for the success of its men’s basketball team, with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. That would be the end of his formal STEM studies, however. Leo went on to earn a “Master of Divinity” from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982, the same year he was ordained a priest. He also earned licentiate (1984) and doctorate (1987) degrees in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
His brother told him NOT to choose Leo
Leo’s brother John Prevost told the Daily Herald that he explicitly advised his brother not to choose the name Leo if he won the papal election. The reasoning, Prevost explained, was his own misrecollection of Vatican history. “He said, ‘What should my name be?’” Prevost said, recalling a call he had with Leo on the eve of the conclave. “We started rattling off names just to rattle off names. I told him it shouldn’t be Leo because it will be the 13th. But he must’ve done some research to see it’s actually the 14th.”
He hits the courts in his free time
Leo told the Augustinian Order after he became a cardinal in 2023 that, even in his late 60s, he plays tennis when he can find the time. “I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,” he said. “Since leaving Peru I have had few occasions to practice, so I am looking forward to getting back on the court [laughs]. Not that this new job has left me much free time for it so far.”
