Interestingly, while Pope Leo XIV’s mother, Mildred Martinez Prevost, is listed as white on her birth certificate, her father, Joseph Martinez, was recognized as Haitian.

The first American pope, Pope Leo XIV's ancestry reveals that he may be the first Black pope, with roots tying back to Haiti and New Orleans. Haniyah Philogene May 9, 2025 ...

In 1900, Leo's maternal grandparents Louise Baquié and Joseph Martinez lived in the predominately Black 7th Ward of New Orleans, according to U.S. Census records, the same part of the city where ...

Pope Leo XIV, who made history as the first American-born pope, was born in Chicago and identifies as white, but comes from a family with ties directly to the Black American South, according to ...

Leo XIV is a member of a religious order named for the famous African St. Augustine of Hippo. Louisiana Creole expert Jari Honora has traced Prevost's ancestry to the Black community of New Orleans.

Pope Leo XIV, who is the first American pope in history, has lineage among “free people of color” in the U.S. dating back to at least the 1840s, a genealogist told Forbes.

Only a handful of women allowed to wear white to Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration — here’s why everyone else must dress in black These women are a part of a small group who are the only ones ...

Lifestyle Only a handful of women allowed to wear white to Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration — here’s why everyone else must dress in black By Fabiana Buontempo Published May 18, 2025, 5:09 p.m. ET ...

Queen Letizia of Spain was seen wearing white during a private visit with Pope Francis back in June 2014 — and of course, Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration wasn’t any different.