Where Pope Leo XIV was born, his nationality of origin, and his lineages

Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago, United States, on September 14, 1955 (Europa Press)Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, United States, and his history brings together an American nationality by birth, Peruvian citizenship by naturalization, and maternal ancestors linked to the Creole tradition of Louisiana. Robert Francis Prevost was elected pontiff on May 8, 2025, becoming the first Pope born in North American territory. His birthplace is the starting point of a career developed between the United States, Peru, and the Vatican. The extensive pastoral work he carried out in the Andean country, together with the known background of his maternal family, provides context for a figure whose religious life became closely tied to Latin America. Robert Francis Prevost was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. The official biography, published by the Holy See, details that his parents were Louis Marius Prevost and Mildred Agnes Martínez, both also born in Chicago and later residents of Dolton, another town in the metropolitan area. Having been born in the United States, Leo XIV holds American nationality by birth. He grew up in that country and completed a substantial part of his education there. He attended secondary school in Michigan and graduated in Mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 1977. That same year he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine, the congregation in which he developed the religious path that later took him to Rome and South America. He was ordained a priest in 1982, after completing studies in Theology and Canon Law. Prevost's election marked a milestone for the Catholic Church. The Holy See presents him as the first Pope from the United States and the first member of the Order of Saint Augustine to ascend to the papacy. In 1985 he received his first pastoral assignment in Peru, where he began a decisive stage of his ecclesiastical career. Leo XIV holds American nationality by birth and Peruvian citizenship by naturalization (Europa Press)Although he was born and educated in the United States, the current pontiff also holds Peruvian nationality. He obtained it by naturalization on August 24, 2015, according to the official biographical record. At that time he was serving as apostolic administrator of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, a position to which he had been appointed by Pope Francis in November 2014. His formal appointment as bishop of that diocese came on September 26, 2015. His connection with Peru had begun three decades earlier. In 1985 he was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, in the Piura region, as parish vicar of the Cathedral of the Holy Family and chancellor of the territorial prelature. After a brief return to the United States, he came back in 1988 to serve in Trujillo, where he directed the formation of religious and taught Canon Law, Moral Theology, and Patristics. During that period, he combined academic activities with responsibilities in his congregation and pastoral work. He was parish priest of Nuestra Señora Madre de la Iglesia —later renamed Santa Rita de Casia— and administrator of Nuestra Señora de Montserrat. Peruvian citizenship came after more than two decades of mission and ecclesial service in the country. In 2023, Francis summoned him to Rome as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. From that path he arrived at the conclave of May 2025, in which he was elected successor to Bergoglio. The bond between Francis and Leo XIV included years of shared work in leading the Church (Vatican News)Leo XIV's Hispanic connection is rooted in his Peruvian pastoral experience, in his daily use of Spanish, and in the family background of his maternal line. The Holy See's biography indicates that he speaks Spanish, in addition to English, Portuguese, French, and Italian. The language was a central tool during his work in the communities of Piura, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. It was also part of his later institutional work as head of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the body that coordinates the relationship between the Vatican and the churches of the region. Research published after his election also identified maternal roots in the southern United States. An investigation by the National Catholic Reporter indicates that the pontiff's four maternal great-grandparents were registered as free people of color in Louisiana. That background belongs to Creole culture, formed by French, Spanish, African, and Native American influences. The research also mentions possible family connections with Haiti and Cuban ancestry through the maternal line. These are genealogical references based on historical documents and family reconstructions, and therefore do not amount to an additional nationality attributed to the Pope. The Holy See identifies Mildred Agnes Martínez as Prevost's mother, although it does not develop her extended family tree. That Latin American dimension of his career will also be reflected in his agenda as pontiff. From November 6 to 17, 2026, Leo XIV will make an apostolic visit to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, once again placing the region at the center of his activities.