Pope Leo XIV grew up in Dolton, Illinois, studied and taught in Chicago area
Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, grew up in south suburban Dolton, and attended the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in city's Hyde Park neighborhood.
Cardinal Robert Prevost was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, His father, Louis Marius Prevost, was of French and Italian descent, while his mother, Mildred Martínez, was of Spanish descent. He has two brothers — Louis Martin and John Joseph.
Mildred Prevost was born in Chicago and worked as a librarian at Von Steuben and Mendel Catholic high schools. Pope Leo XIV later taught at the latter school.
Louis Prevost was administrator of Glenwood School District 167 in the south suburbs, and was a Navy veteran of World War II.
A woman who grew up with Leo XIV in Dolton remembered playing "red rover" with him on a quiet neighborhood street as a youngster.
"We were just playing together as kids. I mean, everybody kind of just, you know, got together… like I said, I played red rover with the pope," said Linda Jorsch.
Jorsch called the act of just speaking those words aloud "weird." She said she took notice when Prevost was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2023, and thought, "Robby Prevost, oh my goodness."
"To learn that he is pope is unbelievable," she said. "It's just unreal to think that I know someone who's the pope."
Jorsch said Leo XIV's family was one of deep faith.
"His family was very, very devout Catholics. I will say that. The mom and dad both were," she said. "They never missed church, and they were very active within our parish. His mom was like a member of the Altar & Rosary Society. They were lectors in their church — very active, very devout family."
Holly Boblink also grew up in Dolton with Leo XIV, and said officiating mass came naturally to him well before he took any vows.
"When we were little, besides riding bikes… we used to play mass. I'm serious. We used to play mass, OK? And you know how kids roleplay?" she said. "And there used to be — they still have them — little candies. They're like little wafers, but in the inside, they're beads, and on the outside, they're like little flying saucers. You know that candy? We'd break them apart. We'd pretend, you know, play, and use those as the hosts."
The Prevost family attended St. Mary of the Assumption Church, at 13764 S. Leyden Ave. in Chicago's Riverdale neighborhood, right at the very southernmost border of the city and adjacent to suburban Riverdale and Dolton. Leo XIV was an altar boy at the church.
The church is closed and vacant, but still standing. Neighbors hope the connection with the new pope could mean a renovation is in order, and have said they hope Leo XIV could even come to the church to say a mass.
CBS News Chicago also spoke to the couple who bought and renovated Leo XIV's childhood home. They renovated the house and planned to flip it.
The owners are a Catholic couple expecting a new baby, so as they get some big cash offers, they may wait a bit to sell it.
Leo XIV attended Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park
Leo XIV earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, and entered the Order of St. Augustine in 1977, and went on to study at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, where he earned a Master's of Divinity in 1982. The Catholic Theological Union, founded in 1968, is located near the campus of the University of Chicago — but is not affiliated with the university.
"We are just overjoyed that someone who's beloved and known to us is now the beloved leader of the whole entire church, and even others who are not Catholic claim the pope as their own," said Sr. Barbara Reid, O.P., Ph.D., president of the Catholic Theological Union.
Reid said people were talking about Leo XIV as being "papal material" a couple of years ago.
"It's been with great interest. We've been watching what other people are saying about him. But he is an extraordinary leader. He's got a very keen intellect. He pursued a doctorate in canon law, which is not for the faint of heart," she said. "He has a heart as large as the whole world, and has a heart that immediately gravitates to the people that are the most overlooked, forgotten — the folks who are neediest."
Father Mark R. Francis, CSV, provincial of the Viatorians in the United States, was a classmate of Leo XIV's at the Catholic Theological Union.
"My experience of Cardinal Prevost was that he's not a showboat," Fr. Francis. "He's very calm, but extremely intelligent, and extremely compassionate."
After Leo XIV was elected, Fr. Francis was emotional about the "awesome role" and "awesome burden" that the new pope will have.
"When you know someone who has done all the things that Pope Leo has done, and you know them from the beginning, you kind of think, this is simply amazing," he said, "and God's grace — God's grace is eminent. It's right here working within us. And for that reason, I'm joyous, and kind of overwhelmed, quite frankly."
Leo XIV made his solemn vows in 1981, and was officially ordained as a priest the following year. He also earned a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, writing his doctoral thesis on "the role of the local prior in the Order of Saint Augustine."
Mendel worked for some time as a teacher in Chicago — first at Mendel Catholic High School on Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, which operated from 1951 until 1988.
In the summer 1984 edition of the Mendel alumni newsletter, which is published online, the school noted that Leo XIV had recently given a talk in Rome in honor of Gregor Mendel, the Austrian scientist and Augustinian prelate whom the school's name honored. Mendel had died a century earlier.
Pope John Paul II also spoke at the event, the newsletter noted.
Leo XIV also taught at Tolentine College in south suburban Olympia Fields, Illinois; and continued his ministry in teaching and formation at St. Augustine Seminary in Holland, Michigan, and the Augustinian Novitiate in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee, according to the Mendel High Catholic Prep Alumni Association.
Leo XIV's roommate in Peru said new pope "had the qualities"
In 1985, Leo XIV went to Peru to work as a missionary. He returned to the U.S. in 1986, and spent 1987 and 1988 as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago.
Leo XIV went back to Peru in 1988, to run an Augustinian seminary in Trujillo. He also served there as parish pastor, diocesan official, director of formation, seminary teacher, and judicial vicar.
Fr. John Leydon was Leo XIV's roommate in Peru for 10 years. They also studied together at Villanova.
Leydon called Leo XIV's election as pope "just overwhelming."
"I knew he had the qualities — that's why people sometimes talked about him. But most people thought he can't get over being an American — thought that would be like an obstacle," Leydon said. "But because he really never really worked very much in the United States — he worked mostly in Latin America and in Rome — I think he's probably the least American of the American cardinals."
Leydon added that as pope, he expected Leo XIV to be a "bridge-builder — you know, someone who promotes dialogue with different ideas and perspectives." He added that in Peru, Leo XIV cared deeply about the poor.
Leo XIV was also a good cook in Peru, and was especially good at making pizza, Leydon said. For Chicagoans with a burning desire to know, the pizza was not stuffed or deep-dish, but thin-crust.
In 1999, Leo XIV returned to Chicago again and was elected provincial prior of the Mother of Good Counsel province in the Archdiocese. Two and a half years after that, he was elected prior general of the Augustinian — a role in which he served two terms until 2013.
In 2014, Leo XIV returned to Peru again, when Pope Francis named him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo. He became Bishop of Chiclayo in 2015, and served as the prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops in Rome beginning in January 2023. This position is responsible for selecting bishops.
Leo XIV held this position until Pope Francis' death.
Leo XIV was elevated to the rank of cardinal on Sept. 30, 2023, and took possession of the Diaconate of St. Monica on Jan. 28, 2024.
"He was a parish priest. He was a missionary. He spent all these years in Peru, became a citizen of Peru, so he knows the struggle of disenfranchised folks and poverty," Fr. Michael Pfleger, pastor of Chicago's St. Sabina Church, said Thursday. "He has the experience of being a pastor. He has the experience of being a ministry, and then he is committed to social justice. His order, the Augustinians, are known for pastoral care and for social justice."
Leo XIV said mass at Chicago's St. Rita of Cascia High School
St. Rita is an Augustinian school, and Pope Leo XIV belongs to the Augustinian order as well. So do many friars who work at the school and know him personally.
In fact, Leo XIV is affiliated with the school and is an honorary alumnus.
Students at St. Rita were watching CBS Chicago all day to see if the smoke coming out of the Sistine Chapel would be black — signifying no pope had been elected, or white — signifying the election of a new pope.
When they got word it was not only an American pope, but Cardinal Robert Prevost, they didn't believe it at first.
It was a surreal day for all the students — especially Robert Kania, who met Prevost last August in New Lenox.
"He was a very charismatic guy — just down-to-earth, talking to everyone. And after the mass, he came out, talked to all of us, and then there was a dinner after, and everyone got to talk with him," said Kania. "It was just one-on-one experience with him was a great time."
Father Tom McCarthy of St. Rita High School said he has known Leo XIV for 40 years. He met Leo XIV upon entering the Augustinian order himself.
McCarthy said Leo XIV I s a wonderful guy, who named him president of St. Rita High School back in the day. He said he reached out to Leo XIV just this week.
"I emailed him on Tuesday, and I said, 'Dear Bob,' I said: 'I'm praying for you and all the cardinals. Come Holy Spirit,'" said McCarthy, "and he responded back: 'Thanks, Tom. Keep the prayers coming."
McCarthy said it was obvious that the late Pope Francis really liked the new Pope Leo XIV.
On May 8, 2025, Leo XIV was elected pope.
