Pope Leo XIV’s brother has lifted the lid on what the new pontiff gets up to in his downtime — and it often involves playing games like Words With Friends or Wordle with his pals.
On Thursday, white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney — signaling that the College of Cardinals had chosen a successor to Pope Francis.
After Pope Leo XIV — born Robert Francis Prevost — greeted crowds at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, his brother John Prevost offered a glimpse into the new Catholic leader’s simple pleasures.
“I haven’t had a moment to think about it. But it’s totally unreal, totally surreal, and it’s a tremendous, tremendous thing to take in, but it’s something to be very proud of,” Prevost told NBC Chicago.
He revealed that he had spoken to the new pontiff right before the conclave, and said the pair often play Wordle and Words with Friends together.
“It’s something to keep his mind off of life in the real world,” he said. “And then we talk about what’s going on.”
Prevost said that he had asked if his brother had watched the Hollywood blockbuster “Conclave” before the start of the papal summit to “know how to behave.”
“I said, ‘Well, are you ready for this?’” Prevost said, revealing that his brother had “just finished” watching the film.
“So it’s that kind of stuff, because I wanted to take his mind off of it, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility,” he added.
The Ralph Fiennes-led movie was released just months before Pope Francis died in April at age 88.
About 80% of cardinals who had participated in this year’s vote were appointed by Pope Francis, meaning a majority had never experienced a conclave before.
The 2024 film – directed by Edward Berger and based on a 2016 Robert Harris novel – was thoroughly researched, and some cardinals who previously experienced a conclave described the movie as an extremely accurate portrayal of the real ritual.
The Cardinals were forced to surrender their electronic devices before they were sequestered in the Sistine Chapel for two days of voting.
Elsewhere, Prevost revealed that he had a “slight feeling” his brother would become the first American pope — though Leo himself was doubtful.
“He didn’t think so,” Prevost said. “I kind of did, because what I was reading and what I was hearing that there were three outstanding candidates that were in first, second and third place. The Cardinal from the Philippines, the Secretary of State and him.”
After hearing that his brother had good odds of being the next pope, Prevost’s optimism grew, though he remained a tad skeptical.
“I don’t know how true it is, but one of the priests at Providence over there in New Lenox said to me, ‘the odds in Las Vegas are 18-to-1 that it’s going to your brother,’” Prevost said.
“I didn’t believe it, and Rob didn’t believe it. I should say, Pope Leo didn’t believe it at all, because there’s not going to be an American pope was the attitude.”
The new pontiff’s Chicago roots sparked a friendly rivalry Thursday, as the city’s two major baseball teams — the Cubs and the White Sox — playfully competed over which side could claim him as a fan.
After the official social media account for the Cubs claimed that Pope Leo was a fan, his brother was forced to set the record straight.
“They had it wrong. He’s Sox,” he told the outlet. “The radio announced Cubs, and that’s not true.”
The White Sox quickly embraced the news, writing on X, “Well, would you look at that… Congratulations to Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV.”
“Family always knows best, and it sounds like Pope Leo XIV’s lifelong fandom falls a little closer to 35th and Shields,” the team said in a follow-up statement. “Some things are bigger than baseball, and in this case, we’re glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican.”
“A pinstripes White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat already are on the way to Rome, and of course, the Pontiff always is welcome at his ballpark,” they added.
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