An American pope was big news. News that Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV as of May 8, was a (distantly) New Orleans pope ? Even bigger, at least among local Catholics and genealogy researchers.

Jari Honora, family historian and genealogist at the Historic New Orleans Collection, published the first notice that the new pope had 7th Ward Creole roots. Sarah Waits, research archivist for the Office of Archives and Records at the Archdiocese of New Orleans, then dove into sacramental records, kept since the early 18th century, to look for more.

“It sort of was a no-brainer that we would probably be able to find at least some records of his ancestors,” Waits said. “Looking into the civil records and looking at the work that Jari had already done (and) having rough dates of birth and m

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