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,

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.

( 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.

The 27-year-old grad student’s suspicions were confirmed. He was sitting next to John Prevost, the sociable older brother of Pope Leo XIV, who’d become an overnight social media sensation for his candid comments with the press in the hours after his Wordle-playing, baseball-loving brother Robert was elected pope.

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)

Six weeks before American Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the activist group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) filed a complaint against him, along with other church leaders,