As the first Catholic pope in the United States, Pope Leo XIV's lineage traces back to the Creoles and Liberty in Louisiana, which illustrates the complex and interconnected racial and class issues in American history.
“His rise is not only a religious milestone, but a historical affirmation,” said Alex Dapaul Lee, a genealogist and former Louisiana official archivist, of Robert Robert Prevost, a formerly known as Cardinal.
When Lee first heard the pope's Creole roots in genealogist Jamarlon Glenn, he replied, "There's no way," Lee said with a smile. "But then I started to follow the rabbit holes I studied."
Lee, founder of Alex's genealogy and Southwest Louisiana genealogy researchers, founded the twists and turns of the document in his collection and collected records from his genealogy network that confirm information about the background of Pope Leo. It also shows several generations of Catholicism in the Prefoster family.
“I quickly realized that he was a Creole from the Seventh District of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is a great place for Creoles in Louisiana,” he said.
Genealogist Jari C. Honora also pointed out the news about the Pope's Creole roots. Leo brother John Prevost confirmed his connection to The New York Times and said he and his brother had never talked about it. "It's never been a problem," John Prevost told the Times.
Although his father's last name "Prevost" is common in Louisiana, Lee says the firm Creole was actually found in Pope Leo's Pope Leo. Mother Descendant: His great-grandmother Celeste Lemelle is an adult of two daughters of color, Louis Lemelle and Celeste Olimpie. They married in 1798 in Opelousas, Louisiana, and were legally classified as "Quadroons."
"That means they will have a fourth African descent, or perhaps Native American descent," Lee said.
The Creole community emerged in Louisiana due to the cultural convergence there. Descendants of France, Spain, Spain, Germany and West African countries lived together in the colonial era when France and Spain had Louisiana territory.
Lee said in the 1700s, in Louisiana, there were three main racial categories: according to Lee, according to Lee, the library of Gens de Couleur (colored/creole freeman) and the white growers class.
Lee said the classifications in the Creole community are based on legal status and racial identity, and other categories such as “mulartto” and “August” often appear in historical documents. He added that the colour of the enslaved people was also possessed at that time. Documents show that the Lemayer family once had enslaved people.
Lee said the Lemelle family traced its wealth back to cattle farms and became one of the most outstanding Creole families in Louisiana's pre-war period.
The pope's great-grandmother Celeste Lemelle was a free woman of color and documents show that she received income from a business owned by Ferdinand Gayarré in December 1833. In addition, she acquired land from Frédéric Guimont in 1850. Lee said the deal was irrevocable to protect her ownership.
“One of the most important things about Louisiana is that women can own property and have owned property since the early days, especially free women of color,” Lee said.
Lee pointed out that in the 1800s, changes in racial identity could be seen among the Pope Leo family.
Celeste Lemelle's son Ferdinand David Baquie was born on October 10, 1837 in New Orleans and was listed as "Mulatto" in the 1870 census. But in 1880, he and his entire family were listed as white.
Regarding how Pope Leo's family ended in Illinois, Lee said his family was likely part of hundreds of Louisiana Creoles who moved north during the first wave of big immigrants in the early 1900s.
"Illinois was once part of Louisiana territory. They had an old post called Kaskaskia, where some of the earliest Creoles were there."
“That fact is that many of these families pass by in Chicago, which means they will have greater success due to the appearance.”
It is worth noting that the Pope’s racial background reflects the integration of various cultures that have historically merged to form Louisiana’s unique identity, Lee said.
“In America, a lot of people think everything is black or white,” he said. “But it’s important to note that the pope’s lineage represents a more inclusive view of what it means to be a Catholic and what it means to Americans with Creole, Louisiana. It’s not just a family tree, it’s a legacy.”