Pope Leo XIV's Creole roots reveal ancestry in New Orleans

The new pontiff s polling is latest ground in a great number of different aspects as he s not only the first U S -born and Peruvian national to become the pope but new details about his ancestral roots go back to the Creole people of color from Louisiana Pope Leo XIV s papacy has been met with ecstasy excitement and a renewed sense of hope for the future of the Catholic church As the pope takes the helm of the Roman Catholic church there s a sense of optimism among the faithful In his first homily as the new supreme pontiff he vowed to lift ordinary people and also called on the Catholic church to counter a lack of faith warning that where faith is lacking life loses meaning I think that he s very humble he s very spiritual and he s very open stated a woman The holy father is making history in more methods than one A New Orleans genealogist exposed that the pope s mother Mildred Martinez was born in Chicago in but her older sisters were born in New Orleans where the family lived before leaving for Chicago Historical records describe the pope s grandparents as Black or mulatto and the census shows his grandfather s birthplace as Haiti It makes him a universal person noted a genealogist Here s an American whose ministry was in Peru who has roots in the American South and also ancestry in the American Black district The Cuban diaspora is also hoping the pope will help with the historical challenges facing the Catholic church on the communist island an island Pope Leo XIV is familiar with He was there back in Photos proved him visiting members of the Catholic clergy in Havana and in Ciego de Avila where he shared a meal with parishioners The pope will have a busy schedule for the next limited days starting with a meeting with cardinals on Saturday and then meeting with the international press on Monday before his inaugural mass next Sunday