Uncovering The Pope’s Roots: They’re Not American!
Beyond his American citizenship, not too many people know of Pope Leo’s Sicilian roots. Elected on May 8, 2025, as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago-born cardinal, became the first American pontiff.
Yet his story begins in Milazzo, Sicily, with his grandfather, Salvatore Giovanni Gaetano Riggitano, whose immigrant journey shaped a legacy that reached the Vatican. Two decades in Peru, where he gained citizenship, added a vibrant Catholic lens to his global papacy.
Sicilian Beginnings
Born June 24, 1876, in Milazzo, Sicily, Salvatore Riggitano faced poverty and land crises. In 1903, at 26, he sailed to the U.S. on the Perugia, adopting the name John R. Prevost to ease assimilation amid anti-Italian bias. His Sicilian Catholic heritage—rich with devotion and communal traditions—rooted his family, including son Louis Marius Prevost and grandson Robert, the future Pope Leo XIV.
Peruvian Catholic Impact
Born September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Robert Prevost grew up in Dolton, Illinois, with Sicilian and Spanish ancestry. Joining the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977, he was ordained in 1982 and sent to Peru in 1985. There, he served as a missionary and pastor in Chulucanas and Trujillo, becoming a Peruvian citizen in 2015.
Peru’s Catholicism, blending Spanish and Andean traditions like El Señor de los Milagros, shaped Prevost. As Bishop of Chiclayo (2014–2023), he championed the poor and tackled abuses in the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, dissolved in 2025. This focus on justice informs his vision of a “missionary church.”
A Global Papacy
Elected on the fourth ballot, Pope Leo XIV greeted St. Peter’s with “Peace be with you,” speaking in Italian and Spanish to honor his Peruvian ties. His name, echoing Leo XIII’s social teachings, reflects a commitment to the marginalized, shaped by Peru’s Liberation Theology and Sicilian faith. From Milazzo to Peru to Rome, Leo XIV unites 1.4 billion Catholics with compassion, his roots far beyond American.
References:
• “Pope Leo’s Grandfather Was Immigrant from Sicily, Genealogists Reveal.” k24.digital, https://lnkd.in/epYn_sZt.
• “Catholic Church in Peru.” Wikipedia, https://lnkd.in/etJyHa8S.
• “Peru Celebrates Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own.” BBC, https://www.bbc.com.
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