The pope’s family history of “gens de couleur libre,” or free people of color, can be traced back to Opelousas, a ...

I share an ancestral connection with Pope Leo XIV. What does that story say about race, religion, and ancestry in America?

There’s no record the new pope ever identified as Black, and he may never have researched his family’s roots in New Orleans.

The new leader of the Catholic Church has a distinction that goes beyond being the first pope from the United States.

The clerk’s office discovered a Declaration of Intention form signed by Pope Leo XIV’s paternal grandfather, the first step in becoming a U.S. citizen.

Pope Leo XIV's ancestry isn't necessarily unique. It's quintessentially American, illustrated by his grandfather's illicit ...

The Chicago suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up has taken steps to acquire his humble childhood home before the property can be sold off to the highest bidder at a planned auction. Pope Leo, who was ...

The image of Trump as the pope just days after our revered Pope Francis died shows why he's a terrible model for morality.

When Robert Francis Prevost was growing up in a modest house in Dolton, Illinois, no one, not even his neighbors, imagined he ...