Pope Leo XIV has roots in New Orleans' 7th Ward. See his family lineage and history.
BY HANNAH LEVITAN | Staff writer May 8, 2025 Updated 25 mins ago
Robert Francis Prevost, now Leo XIV, was named the first American pope of the Catholic Church on Thursday — and his lineage traces back to New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a local genealogist and historian.
When Honora heard the last name "Prevost," he assumed Leo XIV's roots could be Quebecois or even Acadien. But it turned out the family of Prevost's mother, Mildred Martinez, was "entirely from New Orleans," Honora said.
In less than an hour, Honora — who works for The Historic New Orleans Collection — was able to track the pope's roots to the 7th Ward.
Leo XIV, who was born and raised in Chicago, has said in past interviews that was open to the priesthood because neighborhood clergy were always in and out of his childhood home, as his mother often fed them.
"Now we know why her cooking was so good," Honora said. "Both her mother and father were from New Orleans."
According to a Facebook post from Honora, the pope "Creole of color roots" on his mother's side.
Jari Christopher Honora
4h ·
Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has Creole of color roots from New Orleans on his mother's side! What a great connection for our local population! They left New Orleans and went to Chicago between 1910 and 1912. His grandparents were married in 1887 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart on Annette Street. In 1900, his grandparents owned and lived at 1933 North Prieur Street, a site taken by the Claiborne overpass.
He tracked down marriage licenses dating back to 1887, showing that the Pope's maternal grandmother was wed at Our Lady of Sacred Heart on Annette Street in New Orleans.
Honora also found that in 1900, that young couple bought a home at 1933 North Prieur Street, a site later demolished due to Claiborne Avenue overpass construction, and began their family. The clan moved to Chicago about 10 years later.
"Martinez's older brothers and sisters were all born in New Orleans, in the 7th Ward," Honora said. "They moved to Chicago between 1910 and 1912, and like so many Louisiana families, they shifted their racial identity. They moved to a big metropolis and go about what people assume you are."
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, expressed his own excitement about the pope's local roots.
"“As a Black man, a proud son of New Orleans, and a U.S. Congressman honored to represent Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District — which includes the very 7th Ward neighborhood where our newly selected Pope’s family once lived — I am overwhelmed with joy and pride at this historic moment," Carter said in a press release.
“The news that the first American Pope has roots here in New Orleans, with ancestral ties to our Creole and Haitian families, is nothing short of extraordinary."
https://www.nola.com/news/first-america ... f.html?673
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