The family of "Rob" who is now Pope

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The first Pope from the USA, the first Augustinian Pope, but also “Rob”, the boy who from a very young age showed a vocation for the spiritual life — and to whom his older brothers even joked that one day he would reach the most important chair in the Catholic Church.

Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago, USA, into a family descended from immigrants — initially identified as Spanish, French and Italian — and has Creole roots in New Orleans , the youngest of two brothers, and a goddaughter in Peru. The Pope's maternal grandparents — Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié — are described as black or mixed race in several historical records obtained by New Orleans genealogist Jari C. Honora, as revealed by the New York Times . They are said to have lived in a multicultural area of ​​New Orleans and later moved to Chicago in the early 20th century. It was there that they ended up staying and having their daughter Mildred Martinez, the Pope's mother .

The trail of official documents linking Leo XIV to New Orleans, and to his Creole roots, includes the marriage certificate of his grandparents, who celebrated the union in a now-defunct church in the Seventh Ward in 1887, as well as the birth certificate of Mildred Martinez, which shows she was born in Chicago in 1912.

This certificate also provides more clarity on the origins of these maternal grandparents. Joseph Martinez appears on the document as having his place of birth listed as the Dominican Republic and Louise Baquié as having been born in New Orleans.

Furthermore, census records list Joseph Martinez as “black” and his birthplace as “Haiti” rather than the Dominican Republic — a difference that may be explained by the different designations given over time to the two Caribbean island countries. There is even a document that lists his maternal grandfather’s birthplace as being in Louisiana, but according to the genealogist who found the documents, it was common at the time to change the birthplace answer in different documents. The records also reveal that the new Pope’s maternal grandfather’s registered occupation was “cigar maker.”

As the New York Times points out, it is not known whether the new Pope has ever addressed his Creole ancestry in public statements . The family's origins were confirmed to the American newspaper by the Pope's older brother, John Prevost, 71, who reveals that Creole origins were never discussed within the family. "That was not a topic," he said.

He confirmed, as many media outlets had already revealed, that, on his father's side, his grandparents were French immigrants, and that the father of the three brothers, Louis Marius Prevost, had dual French and Italian origins , although he was born in the USA.

John Prevost, who is the middle brother, spent the last 24 hours answering calls from journalists and dealing with the media at the door of his home in the suburbs of Chicago, after his identity was revealed: he is now the brother of the new Pope and he found out about it on television .

“I was surprised, like everyone else, when they said his name,” John told the US newspaper Daily Herald , revealing that, like millions of people around the world, he found out about his brother’s ascension to Pontiff on television on Thursday afternoon.

The retired principal of a Catholic school witnessed the moment his brother stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican from his home in New Lenox, a suburb of Chicago, and described the moment as "shocking." "I was on the phone with my niece and we couldn't believe it. Then the phone, the iPad and my cell phone went crazy." The last few hours have seen many requests for interviews and messages of congratulations.

“Rob,” as his brothers called him, is the youngest of the three. Louis, the eldest, lives in Florida and pursued a military career, and is already in the reserves. Like John, he has already reacted to his brother’s election as leader of the Catholic Church.

“They started reading his name and when he said, ‘Blah, blah, blah, Roberto,’ I knew right away – it’s Rob,” he told ABC News , revealing that he was lying in bed at the time and that was the only reason he didn’t fall over with emotion. “All of a sudden, I’m wide awake and feeling wonderful,” he said, confessing that he danced with joy.

Louis has described his brother as “down to earth” and someone with a good sense of humor who was passionate about his work as a missionary in Peru. The vocation for faith and people was also there from an early age, according to both brothers. The older brother says that from the age of 4 or 5, the family knew that Robert was destined for great things in the Catholic Church.

When the brothers played cops and robbers, Rob would “play priest” and distribute Holy Communion with wafers as hosts, Louis Prevost said. “We were always joking with him: ‘One day you’re going to be Pope,’” he added.

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The middle brother, John Prevost, managed to speak to his brother, who is now Pope, on Thursday. The call lasted 30 seconds, and was only enough for a quick congratulation. It is this brother who also imagines what the reaction of his parents — Mildred and Louis — would have been if they were still alive and could see their son reach the highest office within the Catholic Church.

“They would be feeling extreme joy and extreme pride for him,” he assures, admitting that they would also be worried about how he would handle his new role, because “it is a very big weight on his shoulders.”

In a way, it was his parents who shaped his destiny, giving their three children a very Catholic upbringing. His mother, Mildred Martínez, was a librarian, but she was very involved in parish activities in Chicago, such as the choir, and had two sisters who were nuns.

His father, Louis Marius Prevost, although more discreet in the parish, taught catechism. Robert and his brothers grew up involved in the local parish, attending Catholic school and serving as altar servers at Mass. Only “Rob” decided to dedicate his entire life to religion, and now he will do so at the highest level possible.

Mildred Camacho was baptized in 1997 in the Parish of San José Obrero in Chulucanas. Her father had met Robert Prevost in his youth, when the current Pope Leo XIV visited the Peruvian city in 1985. The friendship between the two grew stronger and, when the priest stayed in Peru (which eventually led to his dual nationality), his friend asked him to be his daughter's godfather, a proposal that Prevost did not hesitate to accept.

Not only did he sponsor the girl, he ended up choosing her name, at the request of her parents who had not yet decided what they would baptize her. Robert suggested that they name her after his mother: Mildred , who had died in 1990.

“I was moved by his election as Pope when I heard his name,” Mildred Camacho, Pope Leo XIV’s goddaughter, told the Peruvian news agency Andina . The woman, now 27, remembers her godfather with great affection and says that he was always a very present person who always communicated with her and sent her messages from wherever he was. “When he went to work at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II, he would send me photos of himself working in the Vatican by email,” she says.

She also remembers that Prevost never forgot to send her a message on her birthday and that, when he visited Peru, they would arrange to meet and spend some time together. “When I arrived in Peru, I would tell my father so that we could meet one hour before and one hour after each mass, to greet each other and talk. His busy schedule didn’t allow us to go out and spend time together, it was just a greeting before and after mass,” she told the news agency.

The last time they saw each other was on August 10th of last year, when Prevost visited Chulucanas to participate in activities marking the anniversary of the local diocese. “We saw him from the beginning of the ceremony, we greeted each other from afar and, at the end of the ceremony, we had a special moment when he approached us and we talked for 10 minutes.” He now remembers with special meaning the last meeting with his godfather, who became the new Pope this Thursday.