The brother of Pope Leo XIV published that he warned the newly-elected pontiff to not use the Italian title as it might be an unfortunate selection.
The guy as soon as referred to as Cardinal Robert Prevost is the primary American-born pontiff, having grown up within the suburbs of Chicago.
The pope’s brother, John Prevost, has supplied perception into his newly-famous sibling’s internal existence, which took him all of the approach to Peru sooner than serving below Pope Francis on the Vatican.
Since the 6th century, popes have taken on a brand new title, that of one of the most Catholic saints, upon election.
Prevost – a retired Catholic college predominant – admitted that his brother had spoken to him previous to the conclave and requested him what his title will have to be.
‘We began damn off names simply to rattle off names,’ he mentioned, sooner than his brother made a now-hilarious advice.
‘I instructed him it should not be Leo as a result of it’s going to be the 13th,’ Prevost mentioned, suggesting it used to be an unfortunate quantity.
However, as each the pope and Prevost learned, the latest Pope Leo used to be, if truth be told, the 13th, making this Pope Leo the 14th.
The newly-elected Pope Leo XIV (pictured heart) surprised his personal brother John (pictured proper) again house within the United States together with his selection of title, having instructed him to keep away from the moniker

The guy as soon as referred to as Cardinal Robert Prevost is the primary American-born pontiff, having grown up within the suburbs of Chicago
‘He should’ve executed a little research to look it is in fact the 14th,’ Prevost instructed the Daily Herald of his brother.
Pope Leo XIV’s brother recommended he felt his sibling had an ‘inkling of a possibility’ to be elected.
However, ‘I truly used to be simply as shocked as everybody once they mentioned his title.’
Prevost used to be talking to his niece, the daughter of each the pope and Prevost’s different brother, Louis, in Florida when the announcement used to be made.
‘We each could not imagine it. Then the telephone, the iPad, and my cellular phone simply went nuts.’
He gave away additional information about his brother’s existence, telling ABC7 that the brand new pope is partial to the Chicago White Sox and now not their rival Chicago Cubs, in spite of their mom being a lifelong Cubs fan.
He and his two brothers all knew ‘what we would have liked to do very early in existence,’ pronouncing the person he as soon as known as ‘Rob’ sought after to be a clergyman ‘from the time he may stroll.’
‘A neighbor as soon as mentioned he used to be going to be pope one day. How’s that for a prognostication?’

Prevost – a retired Catholic college predominant – admitted that his brother had spoken to him previous to the conclave and requested him what his title will have to be. John steered towards Leo however for fallacious causes

Faithful react to the white smoke indicating {that a} new pope has been elected on the Vatican
Prevost, 69, used to be born in Chicago, Illinois and started learning to change into a clergyman with the Catholic Church on the age of 18, sooner than happening to graduate from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with some extent in arithmetic 4 years later.
He spent a lot of his early existence in South America and likewise holds Peruvian citizenship, and used to be mentioned to were noticed because the ‘least American of the Americans’ who have been within the operating on the Conclave.
A well-liked determine within the church who served as the pinnacle of Pope Francis’ vetting procedure for brand new bishop nominations, he has been particularly quiet about his perspectives on subjects similar to girls within the clergy and similar intercourse unions.
He waded into gender ideology whilst serving as a bishop in Chiclayo, Peru in 2012, pronouncing that ‘the promotion of gender ideology is complicated, as it seeks to create genders that do not exist.’
Following his commencement in Pennsylvania, Prevost first went to Peru in 1985 as a missionary sooner than being named the Roman Catholic Diocese for the Chulucanas area that very same 12 months.
Prevost – sometimes called Father Bob – returned to paintings as a pastor in Chicago in 1987 for 12 months sooner than changing into the pinnacle of the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo, Peru – a job he stored for a decade.
In 1998, he used to be elected as the pinnacle of the Augustinian Province of Chicago, making him one of the most main non secular figures within the United States.
The guy he succeeded to guide the Vatican, Pope Francis, introduced Prevost to Italy in 2023 and passed him a outstanding submit heading into the Conclave, a procedure the place cardinals vote in secret to elect the brand new Pope that used to be watched in anticipation by means of thousands and thousands.

Prevost emerged victorious on the Conclave on Thursday, a procedure the place cardinals vote in secret to elect the brand new pope that used to be watched in anticipation by means of thousands and thousands
Although he makes historical past as the primary American pope, the Chicago-born non secular chief has now not been shy about his disapproval of President Donald Trump previously.
He has taken so social media quite a lot of occasions to criticize the Trump management’s strikes on immigration many times and expressed beef up for revolutionary reasons.
‘Do you now not see the struggling? Is your sense of right and wrong now not disturbed? How are you able to keep quiet?’ he mentioned in a single tweet.
The new Pope additionally shared a number of articles that cope with JD Vance’s stance on immigration. One of them is titled: ‘JD Vance is incorrect: Jesus does not ask us to rank our love for others.’
Despite conserving a outstanding submit on the Vatican, Prevost used to be now not some of the bookies’ favorites heading into the Conclave.
This used to be essentially as a result of he’s an American, without a US citizen ever conserving the placement of Pope sooner than in historical past.
Prevost may be a Peruvian citizen, and he lived within the South American nation for a few years as a missionary after which archbishop.
While operating below Francis, he presided over some of the modern reforms Francis made, when he added 3 girls to the vote casting bloc that comes to a decision which bishop nominations to ahead to the Pope.

The long run pope is pictured (purple turned around) in the second one grade
In early 2025, Francis once more confirmed his esteem by means of appointing Prevost to essentially the most senior rank of cardinals, suggesting he would no less than be Francis’ selection in any long run conclave.
The Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s outdated diocese in Chiclayo the place he up to now served, remembered Prevost as a heat and type guy who ate breakfast together with his personnel every day.
‘No topic what number of issues he has, he maintains just right humor and pleasure,’ he instructed the Associated Press.
James Martin, a Jesuit priest who may be the editor-at-large of America Magazine, mentioned on X after Prevost used to be introduced as the brand new pope that he had in a similar fashion glad reminiscences of the clergyman.
‘I do know Pope Leo XIV to be a type, open, humble, modest, decisive, hard-working, easy, faithful, and down-to-earth guy. An excellent selection. May God bless him,’ he mentioned in a submit.
Prevost enters the papacy now not with out some scandal in his previous, and a few have already pointed to an incident over 20 years in the past when he was embroiled within the Catholic Church’s kid abuse controversy.
In 2000, he got here below scrutiny for permitting Father James Ray, an Augustinian priest who were suspended from the ministry 9 years sooner than because of allegations of sexual abuse of minors, to are living at his St John Stone Friary in Chicago.
He would cross directly to take a public stance towards the best way that the Catholic Church treated the pedophilia scandal, telling La Republica in 2019 that it should transfer clear of its tradition of cover-ups.
‘We reject the cover-up and secrecy, that does numerous injury, as a result of we need to assist the individuals who have suffered from the unhealthy act,’ he mentioned.
He recommended sufferers to come back ahead, including: ‘Many occasions it used to be close up and do not communicate, you’ll’t ask for that.
‘On behalf of the Church we wish to inform folks that if there used to be any offense, in the event that they suffered or are sufferers of the unhealthy movements of a clergyman to come back and denounce it, to behave for the nice of the Church, of the individual and the neighborhood.’