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Need to know
- Census Records from the 1900s show Pope Leo XIV’s grandparents had Creole Damn
- His grandparents reportedly lived in the seventh Department of New Orleans before moving to Chicago
- Pope Leo XIV makes history as the first American -born pontiff
Pope Leo XIV Has Creole Damn from New Orleans, according to items that were shared after the election.
Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, grandparents to Robert Prevost, 69, who were selected as successors to Pope Francis Thursday, May 8, lived in the seventh Department of New Orleans before moving to Chicago in the early 1900s, according to New York Times.
The couple was listed as blacks in census records from 1900, Jari C. Honora, a family historian at the historic New Orleans collection, divided on Facebook And with CNN.
Information shows that Joseph, Pope Leo XIV’s grandfather, was listed as a cigar manufacturer born in “Hayti.”
Honora said the couple was married in 1887 and “left New Orleans and went to Chicago between 1910 and 1912.”
“Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has Creol of New Orleans color roots on his mother’s side!” Honora wrote on social media along with pictures of the records. “What a good connection for our local population!”
People were enough for Honora for comments on Friday, May 9.
Mildred Martinez Prevost, the new Pontiff’s mother, was born in 1912 after her parents moved to Chicago, according to information that Honora shared with CNN.
John Prevost, Pope’s 71-year-old brother, confirmed the family’s family to Times.
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty
Pope Leo XIV is the first American -born pontiff. He was born in Chicago and gained missionary experience in Peru and served as the bishop of the city of Chiclayo.
In 2023, he was appointed by Francis to Dicastery for bishops, which monitors the election of new bishops from all over the world.
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When he spoke in Italian and Spanish to a sea of supporters at St. Peter’s square on his first speech as Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV said to spectators, “Peace be with you all.”
He also explained, “God loves us, God loves you all and evil will not prevail.”
