New Lenox, Illinois, US
AP
When white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel revealing that a new pope had been chosen, John Prevost turned on his television in Illinois, called his niece and they watched in awe as his brother’s name was announced.
“She started screaming because it was her uncle and I was in the moment of disbelief that this cannot be possible because it’s too far from what we thought would happen,” Prevost said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press from his home in New Lenox, Illinois.
John Prevost points to an old photo of his brothers, including the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost, left, during an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, 8th May, 2025, in New Lenox, Illinois, US. PICTURE: AP Photo/Obed Lamy.
Next, he said he felt an intense sense of pride that his brother, Cardinal Robert Prevost, had become the 267th pontiff to lead the Catholic Church, making the Chicago-born missionary the first US pope.
“It’s quite an honour; it’s quite a once in a lifetime,” he said. “But I think it’s quite a responsibility and I think it’s going to lead to bigger and better things, but I think people are going to watch him very closely to see what he’s doing.”
Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order who spent his career ministering in Peru, took the name Leo XIV.
John Prevost described his brother as being very concerned for the poor and those who don’t have a voice. He said he expects him to be a “second Pope Francis.”
“He’s not going to be real far left and he’s not going to be real far right,” he added. “Kind of right down the middle.”
WORDLE, WHITE SOX AND MORE: FAST FACTS ABOUT POPE LEO XIV
Pope Leo XIV, now the successor of St Peter, leads the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church in a sacred role that few others will ever hold.
But because of that, some supremely relatable facts about the new pope have emerged about his background, hobbies and life in general.
The Chicago-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost was elected on 8th May, becoming the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the church. Leo, 69, spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops before succeeding Pope Francis, who died on 21st April.
Here are fast facts about Leo XIV:
A GRAND SLAM FOR SOME CHICAGO FANS
As word spread of Leo’s hometown roots, a very Chicago question followed: Cubs or White Sox?
Initially said to have cheered for the Chicago Cubs, the pope’s brother, John Prevost, set the record straight about Leo’s Major League Baseball allegiance in an interview with WGN-TV. The pope is in fact a White Sox fan.
“He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,” John said, adding that the confusion might stem from the fact their mother’s side of the family were North Siders and Cubs fans.
ANOTHER GRAND SLAM SPORT
When he has the time, the Pope picks up a tennis racquet.
“I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,” Leo said in a 2023 interview with the Augustinian Order after taking over the Vatican’s powerful Dicastery for Bishops following years as a missionary in Peru.
“Since leaving Peru, I have had few occasions to practice so I am looking forward to getting back on the court,” Leo added. “Not that this new job has left me much free time for it so far.”
Prevost played tennis once or twice a month with other faith leaders on the courts of the Chiclayo Jockey Club, said the Rev. Jorge Millán, a priest who lived with Leo in Peru.
A CITIZEN OF PERU TOO
Though born in Chicago, Leo spent several years working in Peru, including as the Bishop of Chiclayo. He acquired Peruvian citizenship in 2015.
That makes Pope Leo a dual citizen of the United States and Peru – and the first pope for either country.
After his election was announced, bells tolled at the cathedral in Peru’s capital of Lima and at Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago.
MATHEMATICS AND AUGUSTINIAN EDUCATION
Leo knows his way around an equation.
As an undergraduate, Leo studied math at Villanova University, an Augustinian school outside of Philadelphia. He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science in mathematics, said university president Rev Peter Donohue, noting the Pope is a Villanova basketball fan, too.
In 2014, the Pope also received an honorary Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, from the university, Donohue said. Leo also hosted Villanova officials in Rome that year.
WORD PUZZLES WITH HIS BROTHER
Leo regularly talks to his Illinois-based brother by phone, said John Prevost. They discuss everything from politics to religion and even play the day’s Wordle, he said.
The popular New York Times puzzle gives players six chances to guess a five-letter word correctly.
– HOLLY MEYER, AP
At one point during the interview, John Prevost realised he had missed several calls from his brother, so he gave the new pope a call back.
Leo told him he wasn’t interested in being part of the interview and after a brief message of congratulations and discussion in which they talked like any two brothers about travel arrangements, they hung up.
The new pope grew up the youngest of three boys. John Prevost, who was only a year older than him, said he remembers Robert Prevost being very good in school as a kid and enjoying playing tag, Monopoly and Risk.
From a young age, he said he knew his brother was going to be a priest. Although he didn’t expect him to become pope, he recalled a neighbour predicting that very thing when Robert Prevost was only a first grader.
“She sensed that at six-years-old,” he said. “How she did that, who knows. It took this long, but here he is, first American pope.”
John Prevost, brother of newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, 8th May, 2025, in New Lenox, Illinois. PICTURE: AP Photo/Obed Lamy.
When Robert Prevost graduated eighth grade, he left for seminary school, his brother said.
“There’s a whole period there where we didn’t really grow up together,” he said. “It was just on vacations that we had contact together.”
These days, the brothers talk on the phone every day, John Prevost said. Robert Prevost will call him and they’ll discuss everything from politics to religion and even play the day’s Wordle.
John Prevost said he’s not sure how much time his brother will have to talk as the new pope and how they’ll handle staying in touch in the future.
“It’s already strange not having someone to talk to,” he said.
