Sixty years before he became Pope Leo XIV and the global leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, Robert Francis Prevost was a quiet schoolboy and dutiful parishioner who always held his hands in the proper position to pray.
“I can still recall him doing this,” said Noelle Neis, 69, who attended grade school and church with him at the old St. Mary of the Assumption in Dolton. “He didn’t clasp his hands the wrong way like so many other kids. Even then, he just knew.”
Robert Francis Prevost is shown here in his eighth grade graduating class.
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The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV in Dolton, Illinois.
Photos: Chicago celebrates election of Pope Leo XIV
“Long live the Pope! Long live the Pope!” chanted sixth graders from Everest Academy, a Catholic school in Lemont, Ill., in front of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, following the election of Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and the first American Pope in history on Thursday.
People peer inside of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, while waiting to come inside to pray following the election of the new Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
Members of the Archdiocese of Chicago give a press conference following the election of the new Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
Julia Caspar, left, and Catherine Freidenfeld, right, of Hillsdale College, pray following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People gather to celebrate the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People chat outside Holy Name Cathedral while waiting to go inside and pray following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People enter Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, to pray following the election of the new Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
A person takes a picture of the front of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People wait outside the doors of Holy Name Cathedral to celebrate the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People pray following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
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