Pope Leo XIV, he’s just like us — in some unexpected, refreshingly ordinary ways.
Before entering the conclave where he would unexpectedly become the first American pope in history, the Chicago native spent time doing some very normal things. Among them were playing Wordle, Words with Friends and watching the movie “Conclave,” according to his brother.
John Prevost, the brother of Pope Leo, formerly known as Robert Prevost, told NBC Chicago he had a phone call with his sibling hours before he entered the real-life conclave.
“First, we do Wordle, because this is a regular thing, okay? Then we do Words with Friends. It’s something to keep his mind off of life in the real world,” Prevost said.
He also asked his brother if he watched the movie “Conclave,” which centers on the events that would soon unfold in real life.
“I said, did you watch the movie ‘Conclave’ so you know how to behave? And he had just finished watching the movie ‘Conclave,'” Prevost said. “So he knew how to behave.”
Prevost said the siblings talk often, and he tries to help brother “laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
Long seen as unlikely that a pope from the United States would be elected, the news came as an exciting surprise to Catholics across the Chicago area — and even the pope himself.
“Rob didn’t believe it – I should say, Pope Leo didn’t believe it at all,” Prevost said. “Because there’s not going to be an American pope was the attitude.”
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Prevost spoke of their family background, with him and his two brothers growing up in south suburban Dolton.
“We all grew up in Dolton. I think it was just a normal childhood,” Prevost said.
Pope Leo would divert from the path of a normal childhood after eighth grade, when he left for the Augustinian Seminary.
“He went right from high school seminary, and then Augustinian College at Villanova and then the year of theology. So he wasn’t home a lot, except for summer vacations,” Prevost said of the pope’s background.
Though his brother’s aspirations came as no surprise to Prevost and his family, his absence from home didn’t hurt any less.
“We drove him to Holland, Michigan and unpacked. The ride going home was horrible in terms of sadness, because he’s gone,” Prevost said.
But the family said Pope Leo knew his calling from a very young age.
“I think he knew it by first grade, that he was going to be a priest,” Prevost said. “And there was no question in anyone’s mind.”
As for Prevost himself, the pope’s older brother spent a long career in education, first as a teacher at Visitation Catholic High School before spending 27 years as a principal at local Catholic high schools.
Prevost’s older brother was drafted into the United States Navy while in college, where he studied computer technology, leading into a career he maintains today in Florida.
Prevost said he and his family are scheduled to travel to Rome Friday in an effort to see their relative-turned-pope, though they’re not certain that will happen.
“I don’t know how easy it will be to track him down. And will they let us track him down? I don’t know,” Prevost said.
Prevost did note that he did leave one simple piece of advice with his younger brother.
“Be yourself, because then he’s got it made,” he said.
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