VATICAN CITY (Chatnewstv.com) — Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, shares distant family ties with several global celebrities — including Justin Bieber, Madonna and Hillary Clinton — according to a new genealogical investigation by The New York Times.
The newspaper traced Pope Leo’s ancestry to Louis Boucher de Grandpré, a French Canadian born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Boucher de Grandpré is also a distant relative of Bieber, Madonna, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, actress Angelina Jolie and the late writer Jack Kerouac.
Pope Leo, 69, was born Robert Prevost in Chicago to Louis Marius Prevost and Mildred Martínez. His roots span New Orleans Creole heritage, with The Times reporting that at least 17 of his ancestors were identified in historical records as “free persons of color,” “quadroon” or “mulâtress créole.”
The celebrity connections have drawn renewed interest in the life of the pontiff, whose appointment earlier this year marked a historic milestone for the Catholic Church.
Among the pope’s high-profile relatives, Madonna’s name stands out — especially after her public appeals to the Vatican in recent years. In a 2022 post on X (formerly Twitter), the singer wrote, “Hello @Pontifex Francis — I’m a good Catholic. I Swear! … Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters?”
“I’ve been excommunicated 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair,” she added.
Pope Leo’s relatives say his spiritual calling was clear from a young age.
“Some people play school, some people play army — he played priest,” his brother John told ABC News after the papal announcement. “He knew right then and there that this is not a joke.”
The New York Times reports that Pope Leo’s lineage includes a blend of Italian, French, Spanish and African ancestry, shaped by migrations to Quebec in the 1650s and New Orleans during the colonial period.
While the pontiff has yet to publicly comment on the celebrity revelations, the Vatican has not disputed the accuracy of the report.
