Census records for Leo's maternal grandparents hint at the complexity of Creole identity and of Black identity in America.

Genealogist Alex DaPaul Lee calls Robert Francis Prevost’s elevation to the papacy a “monumental moment” for the Louisiana Creole people. He believes that this will bring renewed pride among Creoles and challenge Americans’ notions of race.

After Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was elected pope, genealogists got to work. What they found surprised them.