ATLANTA — The day after Pope Leo XIV was named to lead the Catholic Church, historians in Atlanta are sharing new details about his ancestry.
According to the historians exploring the pope’s genetic history, he can trace his lineage to the Afro-Caribbean culture.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington spoke to members of Atlanta’s Caribbean community at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus about the significance of the new pope’s heritage.
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“It’s wonderful news,” Maureen Sutherland, a Jamaican Catholic, told Channel 2 Action News.
Sutherland said she hasn’t stopped smiling since she heard the news. She watched Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost become the new pope along with the rest of the world on Thursday.
“He is relatable, he can relate to persons of this side,” Sutherland said.
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Taking the name Pope Leo XIV, he’s the first American-born Pope.
Now, historians at Emory University say they’ve discovered he’s also a pope with creole roots.
According to historians, Pope Leo’s maternal grandparents were both described as Black or mulatto in different historical records.
“He’s someone I think will be for everyone and I think has a particular love and partiality for those who have historically been marginalized,” Dr. Susan Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies at Emory University, told Channel 2 Action News.
Historical records show that the grandparents lived in New Orleans in the early 20th Century.
Eventually, they moved to Chicago, where the pope was born.
“He is a man of faith and he is committed and he is committed to the community,” Sutherland said.
Pope Leo XIV has served as a missionary and a bishop while in Peru, before Pope Francis summoned him back to Rome in 2023 and appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
In the wake of his election as pope, the Peruvian community is celebrating the news as well.
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