Chicago-Residing Individual Claiming Title of Pope Leo XIV: Robert Francis Prevost
Growin' up on the South Side of Chicago, home to the White Sox and the Daley political dynasty, the new pope, who takes the name Leo XIV, was born and raised as Robert Francis Prevost.
Born on September 14, 1955, at Mercy Hospital, his family lived in the working-class suburb of Dolton, just south of the sprawling city. His father, Louis Prevost, was a Navy vet and a school superintendent in the south suburbs of Chicago, while his mother, Mildred Martinez Prevost, a librarian with a master's degree in education, had two sisters who were nuns. The family was deeply rooted in St. Mary of the Assumption Parish on 137th Street, where they attended mass regularly.
As a boy, the future pope showed a keen interest in religion, keeping his hands unfolded during prayers, a practice that set him apart as a pious kid. One of his classmates, Marianne Angarola, recalls, "He was just godly, not in an in-your-face way. It was part of his aura, like he was hand-selected, and he embraced it."
Prevost left home at a young age to attend St. Augustine Seminary High School, a boarding school in Holland, Michigan, run by priests from the Order of St. Augustine. After graduating, he headed east to Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree in math in 1977. By then, he had found his calling, and in 1978, he officially joined the Order of St. Augustine.
Four years later, Prevost was ordained a priest after having studied theology at Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. He then set off to Rome, where he earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1987.
Before making history as the first American Pope, Pope Leo XIV spent much of his career ministering in Peru and heading the Vatican's powerful office of bishops. Despite allegations of failures to address misconduct within his jurisdiction, he continued to rise through the ranks, eventually becoming a cardinal and eventually Pope.
It's safe to say that even the White Sox hope to have a comeback as iconic as that of their fellow South Sider, Pope Leo XIV.
- Despite his modest upbringing in a working-class suburb of Chicago, Robert Francis Prevost, later known as Pope Leo XIV, demonstrated remarkable leadership and a strong interest in finance, as his father, Louis Prevost, was a school superintendent in the south suburbs of Chicago, and his mother, Mildred Martinez Prevost, held a master's degree in education.
- As a student at Villanova University, Prevost, who was born in Mercy Hospital on the South Side of Chicago, showed a remarkable talent for mathematics, a skill that would potentially contribute to his competency in leadership and business management in his later life.
- Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Francis Prevost, celebrated his ordination as a priest in 1981, a significant event that marked the beginning of the journey in his fullscreen mute career, eventually leading him to become the first American pope.
- Although Pope Leo XIV's tenure at the Vatican was not without controversy, his rise to power, born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, remains an inspiring story of wealth creation and leadership, echoing the triumphant legacy of the White Sox, another iconic symbol of the city.
