Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans.
The pope鈥檚 maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or mulatto in various historical records, lived in the city鈥檚 7th Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and a melting pot of people with African, Caribbean and European roots.
The grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baqui茅, eventually moved to Chicago in the early 20th century and had a daughter: Mildred Martinez, the pope鈥檚 mother.
The discovery means that Leo XIV, as the pope will be known, is not only breaking ground as the first U.S.-born pontiff. He also comes from a family that reflects the many threads that make up the complicated and rich fabric of the American story.
The pope鈥檚 background was unearthed Thursday by a New Orleans genealogist, Jari C. Honora, and confirmed to The New York Times by the pope鈥檚 older brother, John Prevost, 71, who lives in the Chicago suburbs.
鈥淭his discovery is just an additional reminder of how interwoven we are as Americans,鈥� Honora said in a text message late Thursday. 鈥淚 hope that it will highlight the long history of Black Catholics, both free and enslaved, in this country, which includes the Holy Father鈥檚 family.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear whether the new pope has ever addressed his Creole ancestry in public, and his brother said that the family did not identify as Black. The announcement of his election in Rome focused on his early life in Chicago and decades of service in Peru.
Honora, who works at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum in the French Quarter, began investigating the pope鈥檚 background because of his French-sounding name, Prevost, but quickly found connections to the South instead.
His trail of evidence linking Leo to New Orleans includes the grandparents鈥� marriage certificate from their 7th Ward wedding in 1887, a photo of the Martinez family grave marker in Chicago, and an electronic birth record of Mildred Martinez that shows she was born in Chicago in 1912.
The birth record lists Joseph Martinez and 鈥淟ouis Baquiex鈥� as Mildred鈥檚 parents. The father鈥檚 birthplace is listed as the Dominican Republic; the mother鈥檚, New Orleans.
Honora also found records from the 1900 Census that list Joseph Martinez as 鈥淏lack,鈥� his place of birth as 鈥淗ayti,鈥� and his occupation as 鈥渃igar maker.鈥� Martinez鈥檚 details appear on the sixth line of a page of the census that Honora shared with the Times.
鈥淏oth Joseph Norval Martinez and Louise Baqui茅 were people of color, no doubt about it,鈥� Honora said.
Joseph Martinez鈥檚 exact place of birth remains a bit of a mystery 鈥� Honora also found an 1870 Census record that says the pope鈥檚 maternal grandfather was born in Louisiana. But he said it was not uncommon for people to change their responses on official records.
Joseph Martinez and Louise Baqui茅 married at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. Until it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1915, the church building was on Annette Street in the city鈥檚 7th Ward, a historic center of Afro-Creole culture.
Creoles, also known as 鈥淐reole people of color,鈥� have a history almost as old as Louisiana. While the word Creole can refer to people of European descent who were born in the Americas, it commonly describes mixed-race people of color.
Many Louisiana Creoles were known in the 18th and 19th centuries as 鈥済ens de couleur libres,鈥� or free people of color. Many were well educated, French-speaking and Roman Catholic.
Over the decades, they established a foothold in business, the building trades and the arts, particularly music, with significant contributions to the development of jazz. They continue to be an important strand in the city鈥檚 famously heterogeneous culture.
The revelation of the new pope鈥檚 heritage is a tremendous moment for the history of Louisiana Creoles, said Lolita Villavasso Cherrie, a co-founder with Honora of The Creole Genealogical and Historical Association.
鈥淚 hate to say it, but we feel, many of us, that our history was hidden from us,鈥� said Villavasso Cherrie, 79, a retired teacher. In part, she said, that鈥檚 because many Creoles have been able to 鈥減ass鈥� as white over the years.
It was only with the advent of the internet, she said, that many people began to research their family history and became aware of their Creole roots. She noted that a significant number of Louisiana Creoles migrated to the Chicago area in the 20th century.
John Prevost, the pope鈥檚 brother, said that their paternal grandparents were from France, and that his father had been born in the United States. He said he and his brothers didn鈥檛 discuss their Creole roots.
鈥淚t was never an issue,鈥� John Prevost said.
What all of this means, when it comes to the pope鈥檚 racial identity, touches on some of the thorniest questions in U.S. society, but also reflects the rich diversity of the American experience.
鈥淲e are all just a few degrees (or less than a few degrees) removed from each other,鈥� said Honora.
This article originally appeared in .
