New Pope Leo XIV has brother in Port Charlotte
Pope Leo XIV, now the Holy Father of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, has close ties to Southwest Florida.
Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected by the papal conclave on Thursday, the first American Pope in history. His brother, Louis Prevost, lives in Port Charlotte.
Leo XIV's Port Charlotte family did not immediately respond to the Herald-Tribune for comment. In an interview with FOX4, the Pope's sister-in-law, Deborah Prevost, said she and her husband were surprised by the news, and a little saddened that it meant they wouldn't be able to spend as much time with Robert.
In an interview with NBC affiliate WBBH, Louis Prevost described the appointment of his brother, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, as “shocking,” “surprising,” and “exciting.”
“I’m almost speechless; it’s just mindblowing that my brother was elected Pope today,” said Louis Prevost.
Prevost said when he heard his brother Roberto was named Pope, “I just freaked out and said ‘It’s Rob, OMG.’ I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts.”
Prevost said the family always knew his brother was special.
“We used to tease him about being pope when he was 6 years old, and then when he became cardinal the rumors floating around in Rome at the time were like ‘He’s got a 1 in 3 chance of becoming pope.’ It’s incredible, it’s awesome.”
Prevost then addressed concerns surrounding his brother, the new Pope's nationality saying, “I just hope for others here and overseas, you know, that it doesn’t turn political. ‘Oh he’s an American, he’s going to screw the church up.’ Hopefully, that doesn’t happen and they just keep the nationalities, the nationalism out of it, and let’s just be the Catholic Church.”
Francis Rooney, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and a friend of Leo XIV's, told Gulf Coast News he was "totally ecstatic" at the ascendency of the first American Pope. He said the new Pope was "chock-full" of ties to Southwest Florida.
Robert Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955. He joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and that year graduated from Villanova University. In 1982, he received a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union was was officially ordained. He also spent years as a missionary in Peru.
In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him to the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and as head of the Dicastery for Bishops - a hugely influential position in the Vatican.
As well as English, Prevost speaks Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.