Pope Leo XIV's family tree shows Black roots in New Orleans

Monterrey, Mexico.- Reading the biography and especially about the mother of the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV, the royal architect Luis Dessommes Zambrano discovered a known name... of his own genealogical tree. And it turned out that the Pope is the third cousin of his father, Roberto, and his uncles Ana Maria, Lillian, Claudio and Sylvia Dessommes. The maternal family of the first American Pontiff, Robert Francis Prevost, originally from Chica…

Black America celebrates African descent heritage of Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV (Wikimedia Commons / Photo by Vatican Media) Black America is taking pride in a truth shaking up the Vatican and resonating through the streets of New Orleans: Pope Leo XIV—formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago—has Black and Creole roots. The Pope’s factual anthropological roots are not just symbolic. According to genealogist Jari … Continued

How Pope Leo XIV's ‘stunning’ Creole, Black roots fuel hope and pride in 7th Ward New Orleans

When Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié and their two young daughters lived at 1933 N. Prieur St. in 1900, New Orleans was the queen city of the South, with new electric streetcars and state-of-the-art infrastructure.

Black, Creole, 7th Ward Louisianans celebrate the pope's New Orleans lineage: 'So dope'

After the discovery that Leo XIV, the first American pope, has ties to New Orleans' 7th Ward and Creole people of color, New Orleanians, Creoles and Black Louisianans raced to celebrate. See their reactions.

Meet The New Pope: Chicago Native Leo XIV Doesn’t Like TrumpR

There’s a new pope of the Catholic Curch, and he’s the first pope to be born here in the U.SA. Not only that, but Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, is of a Creole lineage that traces back to New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a local genealogist and historian. Source: Vatican Pool Honora found evidence that the Pope, a Chicago native, has maternal grandparents who called New Orleans home and were likely from Haiti. In fact, accordin…

New pope’s Black, Creole roots illuminate rich multiracial history of US

Pope's former surname, Prevost, piqued the interest of Jari Honora, a certified genealogist and family historian for the Historic New Orleans Collection museum.