{"id":87702,"date":"2025-05-09T16:13:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T21:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=87702"},"modified":"2025-05-09T16:13:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T21:13:26","slug":"cardinal-robert-francis-prevost-of-chicago-is-first-us-born-pope-leo-xiv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/cardinal-robert-francis-prevost-of-chicago-is-first-us-born-pope-leo-xiv\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, of Chicago, is first US-born pope, Leo XIV"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>By VITA FELLIG and MENACHEM WECKER<\/p>\n<p>(<em>JNS.org<\/em>) \u2013&nbsp;Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, a Chicago native with New Orleans roots, was elected as the new pope of the Catholic Church on Thursday. He will be called Leo XIV.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87707\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87707\" class=\"wp-image-87707 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1-300x191.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1.png 693w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/191;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87707\" class=\"wp-image-87707 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1-300x191.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LeoXIV_screenshot1.png 693w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87707\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd in St. Peter&#8217;s Square on the announcement of his papacy on May 8, 2025. (Screenshot from Vatican Media)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first U.S.-born pope is also a Peruvian citizen and was previously archbishop of Peru, the&nbsp;Associated Press&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cardinal-robert-prevost-card\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, the new pope was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, \u201cone of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church,\u201d the&nbsp;<em>AP<\/em>&nbsp;reported, as \u201cthe powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prevost had \u201ca prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue,\u201d the new pope said in his remarks from the balcony of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica,&nbsp;<em>CNN<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/world\/live-news\/new-pope-conclave-day-two-05-08-25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated the pope and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/114473380014194441\">stated<\/a>&nbsp;that \u201cit is such an honor to realize that he is the first American pope. What excitement, and what a great honor for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new pope has connections to the New Orleans Creole community, identified as people of color who did not identify at Black. His maternal grandmother lived in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans and both of his maternal grandparents were married in 1887 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, which was then located on Annette Street, according to research conducted by Jari Honora, a family historian at The Historic New Orleans Collection.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87709\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87709\" class=\"wp-image-87709 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora-300x298.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora.png 504w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/298;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87709\" class=\"wp-image-87709 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora-300x298.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Jari_Honora.png 504w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87709\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jari Honora, The Historic New Orleans Collection, who unearthed documents that identified Pope Leo XIV&#8217;s maternal grandparents as having lived in New Orleans. (Photo courtesy Jari Honora)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In a post on his social media account yesterday, May 8, only an hour after the name of the new pope had been revealed, Honora added more information on Prevost&#8217;s grandparents and their move to the Windy Cindy. &#8220;They left New Orleans and went to Chicago between 1910 and 1912,&#8221; he posted.<\/p>\n<p>Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Isaac_Herzog\/status\/1920536863514808604\">congratulated<\/a>&nbsp;the newly elected pope \u201con assuming this sacred and momentous responsibility\u2014the first American pope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI send you my warmest wishes from the holy city of Jerusalem,\u201d Herzog stated. \u201cWe look forward to enhancing the relationship between Israel and the Holy See, and strengthening the friendship between Jews and Christians in the Holy Land and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Herzog wrote that he hopes the new papacy will \u201cbe one of building bridges and understanding between all faiths and peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMay we see the immediate and safe return of the hostages still held in Gaza, and a new era of peace in our region and around the world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state among several other Trump administration roles, extended \u201cheartfelt congratulations\u201d to the new pope \u201con his election as the 267th successor to Saint Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a moment of profound significance for the Catholic Church, offering renewed hope and continuity amid the 2025 jubilee year to over 1 billion faithful worldwide,\u201d Rubio stated. \u201cThe papacy carries a sacred and solemn responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The secretary added that he and his wife are \u201cunited in prayer for his holiness,\u201d and \u201cthe United States looks forward to deepening our enduring relationship with the Holy See with the first American pontiff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Effective manager and a pragmatist\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Joshua Stanton, associate vice president for interfaith and intergroup initiatives at the Jewish Federations of North America, told JNS that the newly elected pope has a reputation for being an \u201ceffective manager and a pragmatist, who is a lot less outspoken than some of his predecessors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is the kind of leader who can make significant changes happen quietly and might have already done so in his inaugural address,\u201d according to Stanton, who noted that the new pope mentioned \u201cdialogue\u201d in his inaugural remarks as pope \u201crepeatedly, without specifying with whom he sought dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe might seek to build upon Nostra Aetate and the Second Vatican Accords, which 60 years ago transformed Catholic Jewish relations, and to deepen dialogue with other communities,\u201d according to Stanton, who is also the rabbi of East End Temple, a Reform congregation in Manhattan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is both filled with hope that such an example could be replicated and also a little anxiety-provoking that the church might shift in focus away from its special relationship with Jewish communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Given Chicago\u2019s diversity and its significant Jewish population, Stanton thinks that the new pope \u201chas an intuitive awareness and understanding of Jewish communities and Jewish life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe saw this play out in important ways with Pope Francis, who brought Abraham Skorka,\u201d a prominent rabbi in Buenos Aires, \u201cto the Vatican during his time of transition to the new role and understood Jewish theology because of his time and service in Buenos Aires,\u201d Stanton said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hope is that Pope Leo XIV is going to understand us as we understand ourselves, so that we have to do less translation and less explanation of the basics\u2014not just the Jewish theology, but peoplehood,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Spitzer and Daniel S. Mariaschin, president and CEO, respectively, of B\u2019nai B\u2019rith International, stated that \u201cwe look forward to continuing to work extremely closely with the Catholic Church and community during this new papacy, at a time of manifold common challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, stated that \u201cwe look forward to a close relationship with Pope Leo XIV as we continue to advance positive Catholic-Jewish relations for the benefit of Catholics, Jews and all of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this 60th anniversary year of Nostra Aetate, when we celebrate and reflect upon the positive transformation of Catholic-Jewish relations, we stand ready to work with Pope Leo XIV to assure that past successes are affirmed and furthered and new challenges are met with confident collaboration,\u201d Marans stated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No hot takes<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87708\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87708\" class=\"wp-image-87708 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-300x194.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-1024x661.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-768x496.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel.png 1415w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/194;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87708\" class=\"wp-image-87708 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-300x194.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-1024x661.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel-768x496.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Smoke_chapel.png 1415w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87708\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke emerges from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel signaling the election of a new pope on May 8, 2025. (Screenshot from Vatican Media)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>White smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel\u2019s chimney on Thursday afternoon, signaling the election of a new pope. Crowds in St. Peter\u2019s Square reportedly erupted in cheers as the cardinal electors reached a two-thirds majority after two days of voting on the successor of Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the church, who&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/pope-francis-dies-at-88-in-vatican-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">died<\/a>&nbsp;at 88 at the Vatican on April 21.<\/p>\n<p>The new pope is an alumnus of Villanova University in Pennsylvania and holds a master of divinity in theology from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, per the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/en\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2023\/07\/09\/230709b.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vatican<\/a>. He also holds a doctorate in theology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the first American pope in history and a proud Chicago native, your appointment marks a momentous occasion for America,\u201d the Israel Heritage Foundation&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IHF_Heritage\/status\/1920544011594653865\">stated<\/a>. \u201cMay your dedication to global peace and ecclesiastical reform inspire boundless hope and unity worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the new pope has a Twitter account, \u201che has never tweeted the words \u2018Israel,\u2019 \u2018Jewish,\u2019 \u2018Palestine\u2019 or \u2018Gaza,&#8217;\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LahavHarkov\/status\/1920533757209059441\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;Lahav Harkov of&nbsp;<em>Jewish Insider<\/em>. \u201cSo no hot takes on that.\u201d The new pope has shared messages that are critical of Trump on social media.<\/p>\n<p><em>CCJN editor Alan Smason contributed content to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Cardinal%20Robert%20Francis%20Prevost%2C%20of%20Chicago%2C%20is%20first%20US-born%20pope%2C%20Leo%20XIV\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":87704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14630,8790,8795,8788,14629,14631],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87712,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87702\/revisions\/87712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}