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Chicago Tribune
09-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Newly named Pope Leo XIV has Creole roots in New Orleans, genealogist says
Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected Thursday as the next pope, is partially descended from Creole people of color, according to Jari C. Honora, a noted genealogist and historian. Honora works at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum in the French Quarter, and was a researcher on the TV show 'Finding Your Roots' with historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. Honora said in an interview that he found evidence that the new pope's maternal grandparents were Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, of New Orleans. In a Facebook post, he displayed records of a marriage certificate with those two names. He said he had also reviewed a photo of Martinez's grave marker in Chicago, where their daughter — Mildred Martinez, the pope's mother — was born. Robert Prevost was 'the pride and joy of every priest and nun' at St. Mary's on Chicago's South SideIt's unclear whether the new pope, who took the name Leo XIV, has ever addressed his ancestry in public, interviews or his writings. The records show that couple married at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. Until it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1915, the church's building was on Annette Street in the city's 7th Ward, a historic center of Louisiana's Afro-Creole culture. The word 'Creole' has multiple meanings in a Louisiana context. It can refer to people of European descent who were born in the Americas. But it also commonly refers to mixed-race people of color. Many of these Louisianans were known in the 18th and 19th centuries as 'gens de couleur libres,' or free people of color. Many were well educated, French-speaking and Roman Catholic. Over the decades, they established a foothold in business, the building trades and the arts, particularly music, with significant contributions to the development of jazz. They continue to be an important strand in the city's famously heterogeneous culture. Lolita Villavasso Cherrie, a co-founder with Honora of The Creole Genealogical and Historical Association, said that the research appeared to signal a tremendous moment for the history of Louisiana Creoles, if a branch of the pope's family tree indeed stretched back to New Orleans. 'It would be so fabulous to have someone who has some connection to our people, who give us the recognition we deserve,' said Villavasso Cherrie, 79, a retired teacher. 'I hate to say it, but we feel, many of us, that our history was hidden from us.' That is in part, she said, because many Creoles have been able to 'pass' as white over the years. It was only with the advent of the internet, she said, that many people began to research their family history and became aware of their Creole roots. Villavasso Cherrie noted that in the 20th century, a significant number of Louisiana Creoles migrated to the Chicago area and California. Pope Leo XIV's family: What to know about his parents and their deep Chicago tiesHonora said he began looking into Leo XIV's family history because the name 'Prevost' sounded French; he thought it might be of Canadian origin and possibly connected to the Acadians, French-speaking people who relocated to Louisiana in the 19th century. He said he has not fully researched the origin of that name. Instead, he said, he found the maternal connection to New Orleans when reviewing his records. He had 'no doubt,' he said, that his research was accurate. Honora, who is African American, Catholic and a New Orleans native, chuckled when asked how he felt while making what might be the most important discovery of his career.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart eliminates Union from PIAA playoffs
WEXFORD — The Union High boys basketball team's season came to an end Wednesday night. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart posted a 41-35 victory over the Scotties in the second round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs at North Allegheny High School. Advertisement 'I thought defensively we did a real nice job,' Our Lady of the Sacred Heart coach Mike Rodriguez said. '(Lucas) Stanley is such a tremendous player and an amazing young man by the way. Coach (Mark) Stanley is a gentleman I have a great respect for as well — and his entire family. I think that team is a really good team. It's tough of course to beat a team three times, we all know that. I think the difference in the game was we executed defensively. Offensively, we struggled in the first half. We couldn't buy a was the difference in the second half but I think defensively we were incredibly aggressive in the second half.' Union coach Mark Stanley told his team not to hang their heads after the loss. 'One game doesn't define our season. Credit to OLSH,' Stanley said. 'We had our opportunities. In the past, we've taken advantage of them and tonight we didn't. Sometimes that happens. That's why you left the door wide open by missing free throws. We just couldn't cash in on the other end.' In the fourth quarter, Union reached five fouls to give the Chargers (21-7) the bonus and with 3:35 remaining in the game. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart visited the free-throw line eight times after receiving the bonus and were 5 of 16. Advertisement 'Honestly, I was just trying to stay positive with the kids,' Rodriguez said on the poor foul shooting. 'When Luca (Grisafi) missed his second shot, I know he was down but we had to remind him of the job he was doing defensively. He was guarding (Lucas) Stanley and sometimes when you're exerting that much on defense, your arms aren't going to be there.' Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was 10 of 24 from the free-throw line. 'You shouldn't go 10 of 24 from the free-throw line and win a game,' Rodriguez said. Shots weren't falling much for either team to start out the first quarter. Both teams entered the second with the game knotted at five. Advertisement With 5:03 remaining in the second quarter, Landon Eckert hit a trey, which was followed up with a 3-pointer by teammate Lucas Stanley to take a 13-5 lead. Eckert netted a game-high 23 points for the Scotties (20-8). 'Landon's had a great year for us,' Coach Stanley said. 'He hit the shots when he was open; kept us in it which we needed. Credit to him. He's had success all year. Tonight was no different.' Union entered halftime with a 20-11 lead over the Chargers. 'Our defense was excellent in the first half,' Coach Stanley said. 'Our defense was as good as it's ever been in the first half. They started penetrating a little bit which was one of our keys. We figured they'd make a run. Then, we settled down and it was right there for us. It wasn't no blowout. The shots we usually make just didn't go tonight.' Advertisement In the third quarter, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart started chipping away at the Scotties' lead. With less than four minutes in the third quarter, Tiernan McCullough hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 26 before teammates Lucca Grisafi and Frankie Igrec hit field goals to enter the fourth quarter with a 30-26 advantage. Rodriguez called McCullough's 3-pointers, 'huge.' 'Tiernan has been one of our leading scorers,' Rodriguez said. 'He likes to shoot it when he's open and so does Jake (Johnson). They like that. Those were big. He's very confident, he doesn't get down on himself, he knows he needs to keep his head in the game and of course as coaches we're always telling him 'Next shot, next shot, next shot. Don't worry about the last one.'' McCullough paced Our Lady of the Sacred Heart with 13 markers. Advertisement Union loses three seniors — Lucas Stanley, Maddox Thompson and Jamel Mitchell — on its roster. 'They're everything,' Coach Stanley said on his seniors. 'If Maddox and Jamel don't come out (to play for us this season), we're not here. And know. We'll miss them all.'
