Robert Prevost’s Catholic roots were planted in Chicago’s south side suburbs, where he grew up playing “pretend priest” and embodies the spirit of a “second Pope

Not long after the white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney in Vatican City and news broke that Robert Prevost had become the first head of the Catholic church to hail from the United States,

( NewsNation) — “Holy cow, this is nuts,” said Louis Prevost as he watched his younger brother, Robert, become Pope Leo XIV live on television last week.

Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — has been welcomed with American capitalism in his home city, with vendors saying they've already sold hundreds of pope-themed T-shirts.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago-area native and former substitute teacher at St. Rita High School, has become the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Patrick Feltz, 28, of Villa Park, sports his homemade pope hat while waiting to enter Rate Field in Chicago for a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins on May 10, 2025. It took Feltz 15 minutes to make the pope hat by following instructions from a Youtube video. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

An interview with a brother of Pope Leo XIV conducted by a journalist for The Associated Press was interrupted when the new pontiff called his sibling via FaceTime from Rome.