One of the most popular men in the world right now is the new Pope. After Pope Francis passed away at 88 on April 21st, the Conclave began with Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, taking the coveted title. But before he was the Pope, he was just Robert, a man with two siblings. Louis and John Prevost. A clip has gone viral of him trying to get hold of John on the phone, and it's all too relatable.
During a sit-down interview with the Associated Press, the reporter explained that John’s phone was ringing nonstop the entire time. John said that the last time he had spoken to his brother was before the Conclave began, and brushed off the calls until one came from a tablet in the basement. “That might be the Pope,” John realized.
Naturally, the interview came to a screeching halt as John went to check, as it would be their first conversation since he became pope. “Oh,” John said, staring at the screen. “He’s called for two hours already.” In the now-viral clip of their eventual call, Pope Leo opens without a hello, hola, or hi, but a classic sibling scold while on speaker: “John, why don’t you answer the phone?”
John, realizing the situation, gives Pope Leo a heads up he's being recorded and offers an explanation, “Well, first, you need to know you’re on the air right now." "This has been going on since 11 o'clock this morning. This is the first time hearing that this thing rang and we are being filmed and recorded," he explains.
"Right now?" The Pope responds. The rest of the phone call wasn't shown because the Pope did not agree to be interviewed, but the journalist explained that John congratulated his brother and discussed plans to travel to Rome to visit him.
John also explained that the moment was bittersweet because they used to talk almost every day, and now that the brother is the Pope, he doesn't know if they will be able to keep that same routine.
A sibling feeling
While the world wondered who would be the new Pope, John had a feeling something big was coming. “Last Saturday, one of the priests told me the odds in Vegas were 18 to 1 for my brother,” he told The New York Times. When he called to tell Robert, Robert laughed it off. “It’s not going to happen,” he said. Still, John asked, “OK, but what name would you pick—just in case?”
Days later, there's white smoke, Habemus Papam, and John watching in shock from his porch in New Lenox, Illinois. The brothers say the signs were always there. Robert didn’t play cops and robbers as a kid, he played “priest and communium."
“We used to tease him that he’d be Pope one day,” Louis told ABC News. “The neighbors said the same thing. Sixty years later, here we are.”
Louis found out while he was sick in bed. His wife called him when the white smoke rose. “Good thing I was lying down,” he said. “I could’ve fallen off. I got up and started dancing like an idiot.”
Both brothers say Pope Leo shares Pope Francis’s deep concern for the marginalized. “Don’t expect radical change, but he won’t stay silent either,” John said. “He’s very concerned about immigrants. I don’t know how far he’ll go, but he won’t just sit by.”
He also added this, for the record: “He’s not into luxuries. He’s not going out for a 19-course meal.” Oh, and he’s a White Sox fan, not a Cubs fan.