12-05-2025
New Orleans celebrates "7th Ward Pope"
As a historically Catholic city, New Orleans was always going to celebrate the new pope.
Catch up quick: Historic New Orleans Collection genealogist Jari Honora has shared research into Pope Leo's background, which showed he has maternal grandparents from New Orleans who once identified as people of color.
Between the lines: The pope himself has not commented on his origins, which appear to have been a surprise to his brother, who told The New York Times that his family did not identify as Black.
But they also don't seem to have discussed it much. "It was never an issue," John Prevost told the newspaper.
What they're saying: At a Thursday night gala honoring Xavier University's centennial, attendees were often overheard exclaiming that, "He's one of us!"
Xavier is the nation's only historically Black and Catholic college.
Local social media also reacted accordingly to celebrate a pope " out tha 7th Ward."
There were memes of Popeyes fried chicken becoming "Pope Yes" fried chicken, with Dirty Coast noting that "When the smoke is white, your order's ready!"
In one image, the smoke of the Sistine Chapel billowed out in purple, green and gold.
AI-generated imagery contributed to a lot of the glee, including a picture of Pope Leo enjoying some gumbo and a platter of boiled crawfish.
One of our favorites is an AI-generated video of the pope buckjumping at a second-line. (See it below.)
