Pope Leo XIV’s brother says he felt ‘disbelief’ over sibling named pontiff – National

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Pope Leo XIV’s brother says he felt ‘disbelief’ over sibling named pontiff – National

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.

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 U.S. pope.

“It’s quite an honor; 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 ******* and better things, but I think people are going to watch him very closely to see what he’s doing.”

Story continues below advertisement

Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order who spent his career ministering in Peru, took the name Leo XIV.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

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.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

2:16
Pope Leo XIV: How Americans are reacting to first U.S.-born pontiff

At one point during the interview, John Prevost realized 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.

Trending Now

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Tempers flare as Trump taps doctor-turned-influencer for surgeon general

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

What Canada could learn from Trump’s new trade deal with U.K.

Story continues below advertisement

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 neighbor 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.”

More on World
More videos

When Robert Prevost graduated eighth grade, he left for seminary school, his brother said.

“There’s a whole ******* 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.

Story continues below advertisement

—Golden reported from Seattle.

&copy 2025 The ********* Press

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Pope #Leo #XIVs #brother #felt #disbelief #sibling #named #pontiff #National

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/