The night before the conclave, Pope Leo XIV gave his brother a hint that he could be the next pope — but he ignored his older sibling’s advice.
Older brother John Prevost revealed the shocking details from a prophetic phone call he had with Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost before he was locked in the Sistine Chapel with the other 132 cardinals on Wednesday.
“He said, ‘What should my name be,’” John Prevost told the Daily Herald from his suburban Chicago home.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV (center), with his older brothers, Louis (left) and John, who is a retired Catholic school principal. Courtesy of John Prevost via Daily Herald“We started rattling off names just to rattle off names. I told him it shouldn’t be Leo because it will be the 13th,” the elder brother recalled.
“But he must’ve done some research to see it’s actually the 14th.”
The older Prevost said he was shocked when his little brother, who grew up in Chicago, was named holy father of the Roman Catholic Church.
“Not really an idea that it could happen, but there was a chance, an inkling,” Prevost said, adding, “But I really was just as surprised as everyone when they said his name.”
Prevost got a prophetic phone call from his brother, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, before he was locked in the Sistine Chapel with the other 132 cardinals on Wednesday. Fox4
In an interview conducted from his Chicago home, he told the Daily Herald that his brother asked him what his papal name should be. Midwest Augustinians
Prevost didn’t want him to take the name Leo because it would be the 13th, but later conceded, “he must’ve done some research to see it’s actually the 14th.” Midwest AugustiniansPrevost also dished on Pope Leo XIV’s favorite baseball team, which is in need of divine intervention.
Chicago native Leo XIV is a White Sox fan, contrary to widespread speculation that the newly minted pontiff was a fan of the Cubs, according to his brother.
“He was never, ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that all came from,” John Prevost told WGN News.
Follow the latest on the election of Pope Leo XIV:
- Who is Robert Prevost? Meet Leo XIV, the first American pope
- Cardinal Robert Prevost elected first American-born pope, takes name Pope Leo XIV
- First American pope is from Chicago, and everybody has jokes about it: ‘All communion wafers will be deep-dish’
- Here’s why American-born Cardinal Robert Prevost might have selected Pope Leo XIV as his papal name
“He was always a Sox fan,” Prevost said.
“Our mom’s family was from North Side, so they were Cubs fans.”
White Sox fandom was a personal choice for a young Pope Leo XIV, whose father supported the rival St. Louis Cardinals, according to that interview.
Robert Prevost waves to the crowd after being elected the new pope in Vatican City, on May 8, 2025. Xinhua/Shutterstock
John Prevost points to an old photo of his brothers, including the newly elected Pope Leo XIV (left), on May 8, 2025. APFellow storied losers the Chicago Cubs balked earlier Thursday when they posted, “Hey Chicago, He’s A Cubs Fan!,” in lights outside Wrigley Field.
The White Sox posted an all-time MLB-worst 41-121 record last season and lost 10-0 to the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
