Robert Francis Prevost, who was appointed Pope Leo XIV, has deep African American roots traced back to New Orleans, as revealed by U.S. Census records from the early 1900s. His maternal grandparents identified as Black or mulatto, with origins in Haiti and Dominican Republic. Although their family later moved to Chicago and reportedly changed their racial identity to whiteâ a common survival strategy among Southern migrantsâ examinations of their lineage show a significant connection to free people of color in Louisiana, highlighting the complexities surrounding race and heritage in America.
It's clear that the Pope has centuries-long ties to free people of color in Louisiana, emphasizing the ancestry of Robert Francis Prevost.
In the intervening period, they not only migrated from New Orleans to Chicago but also changed their racial identifiers, which is very common.
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