It was thrilling to be taught that the brand new pope, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has taken the papal identify Leo XIV, is the primary American to ascend to the very best position within the Catholic Church. However now, as his ancestry is revealed, we’re studying that it is a pope who can characterize America’s various make-up.
The Chicago-born cardinal chosen on Could 8 is descended from Creole folks of New Orleans, The New York Instances experiences. His maternal grandparents have been described as Black or mulatto in varied historic data. They lived within the metropolis’s Seventh Ward, a historically Catholic space with a various African, Caribbean and European heritage panorama. His grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, migrated to Chicago within the early twentieth century and had a daughter: Mildred Martinez, the pope’s mom.
Found by genealogist Jari C. Honora, the pope’s older brother, John Prevost, confirmed the household’s lineage to the Instances. In keeping with his web site, Honora is a New Orleans native and resident with Louisiana Creole roots relationship again greater than two centuries alongside Bayou Lafourche and the German-Acadian Coast. He has twenty years of expertise researching households and establishments in South Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
The Pope’s ancestry connects him to a vibrant and distinctive cultural heritage, formed by African, French, Spanish and Caribbean influences, which is a big a part of American historical past. His background is a primary for all People, and one which People of shade can affirm that we’re represented within the highest echelons of the Catholic faith.
Whereas the Pope and the papacy haven’t talked about his various heritage, this revelation might create a stronger connection and engagement between the Catholic Church and our communities, opening doorways for extra dialogue on points necessary to Black Catholics and the broader group.
That’s one thing that each one People ought to be happy with.