Pope Leo May Have Haitian Roots Through Creole Ancestry

Information Americas, New York, NY, Could 9, 2025: Because the world welcomes Pope Leo XIV, a groundbreaking revelation has emerged that connects the primary U.S.-born pontiff to a lesser-known however profoundly wealthy heritage — one rooted within the Afro-Caribbean and Creole expertise of New Orleans, with potential ties to Haiti.

Based on a report revealed by The New York Occasions, the brand new pope, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, descends from Creole folks of shade in New Orleans via his maternal grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié. Historic information describe each as Black or mulatto, and census paperwork checklist Mr. Martinez’s native land as “Hayti” — the historic spelling of Haiti — suggesting that the brand new pontiff could certainly have Haitian roots.

The revelation was uncovered by New Orleans genealogist Jari C. Honora, whose analysis traced the pope’s maternal lineage to town’s historic Seventh Ward — a cultural hub of African, Caribbean, and European ancestry, deeply Catholic and central to Louisiana’s Creole identification.

“This discovery is simply a further reminder of how interwoven we’re as People,” Honora advised The Occasions, including that it shines a light-weight on the lengthy, usually missed historical past of Black Catholics within the U.S., lots of whom had been enslaved or descended from free folks of shade.

Whereas the Vatican’s official announcement targeted on Leo XIV’s upbringing in Chicago and his missionary work in Peru, the affirmation of his Creole ancestry — and doubtlessly Haitian lineage — provides a deeply symbolic layer to his papacy, significantly for Black Catholics throughout the Americas.

Pope Leo XIV’s grandparents married at Our Woman of the Sacred Coronary heart Church in New Orleans earlier than relocating to Chicago. His mom, Mildred Martinez, was born there in 1912. Along with information linking Joseph Martinez to Haiti, his occupation was listed as a cigar maker — a commerce traditionally related to Caribbean immigrants.

Whereas the Prevost household reportedly didn’t establish as Black, and the pope’s brother confirmed they “recognized as white,” this discovery highlights the nuanced complexity of racial identification in America — significantly amongst Creole households, lots of whom had been capable of go as white in segregated societies.

For descendants of Louisiana Creoles and Caribbean immigrants, the brand new pope’s lineage is being celebrated as a long-overdue recognition of a wealthy cultural legacy.

“It is a large second,” mentioned Lolita Villavasso Cherrie, co-founder of The Creole Genealogical and Historic Affiliation. “It’s not nearly race; it’s about acknowledging a layered and delightful historical past that has formed American Catholicism.”

Whether or not or not Pope Leo XIV ever immediately addresses his Creole and Haitian ancestry, his elevation stands as a milestone for the broader Black Catholic diaspora — from Louisiana to Haiti to Latin America — whose religion and contributions have lengthy been woven into the Church’s world material.