|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
When the white smoke rose over St Peter’s Square and the name Leo echoed through the crowd, Louis couldn’t believe his ears. “He was elected, I got up immediately, got dressed, dancing around like an idiot, just because it’s incredible,” he told ABC News, still reeling from the moment.
Louis, an older brother of Pope Leo, had spoken to him just before the conclave began. “I spoke to him Tuesday before he went in, and he just kept saying oh that’s not true,” he said, referring to speculation that Leo was among the leading candidates. “He was pushing it away, hoping it would go away. But it didn’t.”
Read also: Pope Leo XIV and the true Nigerian connection
Pope Leo, 69— born Robert Francis Prevost in Illinois, Chicago — is the first American ever elected to the papacy. His rise comes as a surprise to many, especially given longstanding speculation that an American pope was unlikely due to the USA’s political influence. “I didn’t expect it,” said Louis. “I kept hearing there will be no American pope because the politics in the USA is too much of a world power now. They don’t need it in the Church.”
But Leo’s background is far from political. “He’s a regular person,” Louis said. “He was trained in missionary work in South America for many years. He will be looking out for the disenfranchised, poor, and those that don’t have a voice.”
Read also: Meet Pope Leo XIV, first American, Augustinian elected Pope
Many observers have already noted his similarities to Pope Francis. “I don’t think there will be a difference,” Louis said. “I think they believed in the same thing.”
Recalling their childhood, Louis shared a touching memory: “Growing up we were just regular kids. The interesting thing is, when he was in first grade, a woman across the street said he would be that first American pope.”
Pope Leo begins his papacy at a time of global uncertainty, but for those who know him, his election is not just historic — it’s deeply personal.
