Pope Leo's Chicago roots: His grandfather's intriguing immigration tale
CHICAGO — Pope Leo's connection to Chicago is by now well known to the masses but long before he was born and raised in Dolton, his ancestors left the old world of Italy to begin a new life in America.
Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Mariyana t. Spyropoulos started at adeep dive into the genealogy as soon after Pope Keo was chosen.
Before his ascension to lead the Catholic Church, he was known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, or 'Father Bob,' as his friends knew him throughout most of his priesthood as an Augustinian.
'… We initially looked for a document by the name of Prevost,' Spyropoulos said. 'We couldn't find anything there. Bbut we did a little further digging on the internet of genealogy, and we made the connection between the name of Riggatono and the name of Prevost and found the document declaration of intention.'
More: Village of Dolton considering acquiring Pope Leo XIV's childhood home
Salvatore Riggatono was born in June of 1876 in Milazzo, a town in the province of Messina, Italy. He took a ship to New York City like many immigrants to make new life in a new country.
'Salvatore Riggatono came to the United States in 1905 but applied for citizenship in 1920. He is the grandfather of the current pope, Pope Leo,' Spyropoulos said
Riggatono spent some time living with his sister in Quincy, Illinois before coming to Chicago. In time he changed his last name to Prevost which evidently was his mother-in-law's maiden name.
'Apparently back then you had to go through a three-step process,' Spyropoulos said. 'The first was the declaration of intention. You have to say what's your name, what's your occupation was where you came from, where you are currently living. So Mr. Riggatono was living at 1718 Greenleaf Ave. which is Rogers Park I believe. (We also had to name) … what ports in Italy he came from, who he was married to. And you had to renounce your allegiance to other countries and other governments.'
Riggatono never did become a U.S. citizen for reasons unknown.
Pope Leo's mother's family was from the Caribbean before emigrating to New Orleans and then eventually in Chicago.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
New fully accessible playground opens in Scranton
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A new place to play is now in Scranton. The city celebrated the grand opening of the Butterfly Playground, a fully accessible space inside Nay Aug Park designed for children and adults of all abilities. What used to be a parking lot is now a place where everyone can play. 'Oh, I've already seen the kids in here playing, and it makes you really happy. You put a smile on your face to see them enjoying it,' said volunteer Doris Koloski. The Butterfly Playground in Nay Aug Park is Scranton's newest inclusive play space, featuring accessible ramps and a merry-go-round built into the surface, so kids of all abilities can ride. 'This project has equipment that's totally handicap accessible, which we don't see enough of in our region,' said Thom Welby, vice chair of the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority. 'I think the idea was that they could all intermingle and I'll enjoy the stuff together and not have them separated out, and just so the kids could socialize,' said Koloski. The nearly $400,000 project was funded through a state casino grant, administered by the city, with support from lawmakers and local volunteers. PHOTOS: Wilkes-Barre mural causes controversy 'The volunteers up here, they've been having donut sales, just basket raffles, bingos, anything to raise money,' explained Welby. That extra money added activity panels throughout the playground. This is just phase one. City leaders say future phases will include additional age-specific areas, all part of an all-inclusive discovery corridor. 'We added paved ADA parking spaces to the adjacent parking lot here and then added an ADA accessible route to the playground, and the pour and play system is actually a granular rubber that's bound,' said Mike Lachman, landscape architect at Barry Issett & Associates. Making it wheelchair accessible and cleaner. 'Playground projects are always the fun ones because you get to see the kids enjoy it after the fact, it's not so much the ribbon-cutting after all that's done. It's coming back out and seeing the kids run around and play on the playground,' explained Lachman. The Butterfly Playground is now open to the public at Nay Aug Park. With this ribbon cutting, Scranton sends a clear message: Play is for everyone. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fauquier County Public Schools giving out free summer meals to kids
FAUQUIER COUNTY, Va. () — Fauquier County Public Schools will be giving out free meals to children during the summer. The Summer Food Service Program is offering free to-go meal kits to children who are two to 18 years old. Meal distribution will be from Monday to Thursday, starting on June 10 until July 24. Meals will not be offered on June 19 in observance of Juneteenth. PHOTOS: Black bear travels to Herndon after traversing Maryland The kits will include breakfast and lunch for the day. On Thursdays, the kits will have meals for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Meals will be given out on a first-come-first-serve basis at these three locations: Salem Avenue (Townhomes), Marshall – 11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Frost Street cul-de-sac (Marshall Townhomes), Marshall – 11:20 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. Marshall Community Center Library, Marshall – 11:40 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. Children are encouraged to attend in person to receive meal kits. Parents or guardians picking up meals without their children present need to show proof of eligibility. Acceptable documents for proof: A student ID A report card A health insurance card with the child's name and date of birth Any other document that reasonably identifies the child's name and age No invasive questions will be asked. The process is designed to be respectful and simple. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: Brazil's Cavalhadas festival celebrates the Holy Spirit
PIRENOPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — The heartland Brazilian city of Pirenópolis is hosting its annual Cavalhadas festival, a Holy Spirit celebration where participants ride horses, wear masks and don floral headpieces. The tradition began in the 1800s with a Portuguese priest who wanted to celebrate the Holy Spirit — one of the entities of the Roman Catholic Church's trinity — and also commemorate the victory of Iberian Christian knights over the Moors. The festivities include an open-air reenactment of a battle between Christian warriors and Muslims. At the end, the defeated Moors are converted to Catholicism. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
