Pope Leo watched Conclave film and performed Wordle earlier than being elected new pontiff, brother reveals | EUROtoday

Pope Leo spent the times main as much as the secretive vote within the Vatican that may make him the primary American head of the Catholic Church watching the movie Conclave so he knew what to anticipate, his brother has revealed.

Pope Leo XIV, previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, emerged on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on Thursday night time because the 267th pontiff, following 4 rounds of voting throughout the conclave.

The 69-year-old Chicago-born ally of the late Pope Francis was solely elevated to cardinal in 2023, however his standing among the many papabile had shot up within the weeks after his predecessor’s dying.

John Prevost, described the second he discovered that his youthful sibling had been named the brand new head of the Catholic Church.

“I was in this moment of disbelief that this cannot be possible because it’s too far from what we thought would happen,” John told NBC from his home in New Lenox, Illinois.

When asked if Pope Leo would have watched the film Conclave for inspiration, John said he had. “So he knew how to behave. 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,” John added.

“I am almost speechless. It’s just mindblowing that my brother was elected Pope,” mentioned Pope Leo’s different brother, Louis Prevost.

John additionally mentioned that he had informed his youthful sibling to ensure he does the Wordle, a phrase sport on the New York Timesearlier than getting into the conclave, throughout which each and every cardinal should hand over their cellphone and stop communication with anybody outdoors the 133 voting cardinals.

Asked how he thought Pope Leo would run the Vatican, he added that he expects him to be a “second Pope Francis”.

“He’s not going to be real far left and he’s not going to be real far right,” he mentioned. “Kind of right down the middle.”

Born in 1955, Pope Leo left dwelling as a younger teenager to affix the St Augustine seminary. His brothers mentioned they noticed him solely throughout the holidays after that, however have maintained shut contact ever since.

Leo went on to have an extended profession in missionary work in South America, working for almost 15 years in Peru till 1998. In 2015, he was appointed the bishop of Chiclayo in northwest Peru and awarded citizenship.

The new pontiff has championed the significance of on-the-ground work. In a 2023 interview with Vatican News, he mentioned: “One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church. The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”

It was this ardour for the pastoral that received over the late Francis, who introduced Leo to the Vatican in 2023 because the highly effective head of the workplace that vets bishop nominations, some of the essential jobs within the Catholic Church.

The new Pope can be an professional in canon legislation, a system that features like a structure and authorized system particularly for the Catholic Church, affording him enchantment to the extra conventional wings of the Vatican.