Robert Prevost was ‘the pride and joy of every priest and nun’ at St. Mary’s on Chicago’s South Side

Catholics across the region are celebrating the historic announcement that the first American pope in the -year history of the church was born and raised in the Chicago area In his first words as Pope Leo XIV Robert Francis Prevost released peace be with you invoking a message of dialogue and care for those in need from Vatican City on Thursday When I heard the news of the new Holy Father at that moment at least here in Chicago the sun came out explained the Rev Greg Sakowicz rector of Holy Name Cathedral Various would say the sunny weather was just a coincidence Sakowicz acknowledged But a coincidence is God s way of remaining anonymous he added Faithful celebrate after white smoke appeared from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where cardinals gathered on the second day of the conclave to elect a successor to late Pope Francis at the Vatican May Emilio Morenatti AP Prevost s Catholic roots were planted in Chicago s south suburbs where he lived in Dolton with his parents and two brothers He grew up in St Mary of the Assumption parish on the Far South Side attending school there and serving as altar boy Marianne Angarola who was in the same class as Prevost remembers him as a good singer who cared about people and looked for the good in things St Mary s closed and went into a state of disrepair she revealed But Angarola and others have kept up with his career following along on the Internet for updates as he rose through the ranks of the church He was the pride and delight of every priest and nun in that school Angarola explained Everybody knew he was special Another St Mary s classmate Peggy Wurtz remembered Prevost serenading at midnight Mass with his mother who was also a talented vocalist Wurtz revealed she was intimidated by his intelligence even in grade school During their fifth grade science fair Wurtz recalled being embarrassed to answer a question about her tooth decay project in front of Prevost who was more deft in explaining his work He won first prize Wurtz stated The class of has an annual reunion and she hopes they can see him at one down the line I figure we should have a class reunion in Rome so he gets us all at once Wurtz noted Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St Peter s Basilica at the Vatican Thursday May AP Photo Andrew Medichini His father Louis was an educator who led Glenwood School District and served as principal of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Chicago Heights which was closed in He died in according to his obituary His mother Mildred was a librarian who worked at Holy Name Cathedral Von Steuben High School on the North Side and Mendel Catholic Prep She died in after decades of facility to St Mary s Church After graduating from St Mary s in Prevost attended St Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan He briefly lived at the now-shuttered Tolentine seminary in Olympia Fields before attending Villanova University He was ordained a priest in Rome and studied there until shuttling between church leadership positions in Chicago and Peru until Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost attends the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter s Square on April in Vatican City Vatican Franco Origlia Getty Prevost a longtime missionary and member of the Augustinian religious order made his first appearance on the loggia of St Peter s Basilica on Thursday wearing the traditional red cape of the papacy Prevost was head of the Augustinians from to based in Rome He also served as head of the Chicago province of the order and in was named apostolic administrator and then bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru in a region where the Chicago Augustinians have long had a presence In his predecessor Pope Francis named Prevost to take over the Vatican s powerful bishops office that vets nominations around the globe from a retiring Canadian who had lately been accused of sexual misconduct The critical Holy See office also investigates accusations of abuse or negligence against bishops This is a historic day announced Robert Orsi professor of religion at Northwestern University Robert Francis Prevost was a favorite of Pope Francis who made him cardinal only two years ago The new pope s namesake Leo XIII was known for his outspoken defense of the rights of working people to a living wage By taking this name Pope Leo XIV clearly signals his priorities Pope Leo XIII was also profoundly wary of nationalists especially those who would divide the church over political disputes The Pope Leo of the early st century who spent majority of of his years outside the United States appears already to be calling Catholics back to a truly global truly open-hearted faith Close to people were at noon Mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on Thursday Near the end of the amenity the rector informed who the pope was an American-born from Chicago The crowd erupted in applause Julie Bartholomae from Lincoln Park stepped outside to take a call from her sister who was telling her the name of the pope Her eyes lit up when she discovered out the new leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide was from Chicago I think this is so exciting a U S pope and he s from Chicago she announced The announcement of a new pope brought Katherine Gehl a parishioner at Holy Name tears of happiness She was walking home from the gym when she heard the news and ran to Holy Name It was extraordinary to be here you know in the presence of other Catholics she explained All I all I can say is I m just praying that this pope brings a call for unity That s what we need because we have so numerous challenges worldwide and in division we shall not solve them They will only be solved in unity