Pope Leo XIV received a copy of his family tree from Henry Louis Gates Jr., marking his first public acknowledgment of his Black ancestry.

The election of Pope Leo XIV, who is the first U.S. pope and has Creole roots, is raising more awareness about the complexity of the Creole identity.

Pope Leo XIV has been presented with a physical copy of his family tree, which features some Black relatives. The news comes ...

But beyond the celeb connections, Gates’ research uncovered something far more powerful: Pope Leo XIV is of mixed Black and ...

When Henry Louis Gates Jr. set out to trace the family tree of America's first pope, he had no idea he was about to uncover ...

It is unclear if Leo has publicly discussed this aspect of his identity. Still, Black Catholics and Black Americans have reacted with excitement and joy at the revelation of the pope’s ancestry ...

Pope Leo XIV’s Creole and African ancestry, traced to Louisiana and West Africa, is prompting celebration and curiosity among ...

Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, the only historically Black Catholic university, said he was “a little surprised” about the pope’s heritage.

All four of Pope Leo XIV’s maternal great-grandparents were “free people of color” in Louisiana based on 19th-century census records, Honora found.