On 8 May 2025, Robert Francis Prevost was elected 267th Pope of Rome, taking the name Leo XIV. Very quickly, genealogists from all over the world set about discovering his ancestors.
Leo XIV, whose real name was Robert Francis Prevost, was born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the youngest son of Louis Marius Prevost (1920-1997), of Italian and French descent, and Mildred Agnes Martinez (1911-1990), from Creole families in Louisiana and the West Indies.
The origin of doubt: FamilySearch and the Fabre confusion
The name Suzanne Fabre appears in certain databases, notably FamilySearch, and even in an Ancestry database for the birth of the Pope's father in 1920. However, no French civil status source corroborates the existence of a Suzanne Fabre corresponding to the profile of the Pope's grandmother. It is therefore most likely a question of an indexing error or confusion linked to homonyms, which are common in large international databases.
Evidence in favour of Suzanne Fontaine
Extensive research by French genealogists, cross-checked with civil status records from Le Havre, confirms that Leo XIV's paternal grandmother was Suzanne Louise Marie Fontaine, born on 2 February 1894 in Le Havre. She was the daughter of Ernest Auguste Fontaine (1857-1919) and Jeanne Eugénie Prévost (1864-1933), both confectioners from Normandy, and emigrated to the United States where she married John R. Prevost, a professor of Romance languages of Italian origin. Their son, Louis Marius Prevost, was the father of Pope Leo XIV.
A decisive argument came from Suzanne's own son, John C. Prevost (1917-1996), who entered ‘Fontaine’ as his mother's maiden name on her American social security application. This official document proves the parentage and confirms that Suzanne Fontaine, whose birth certificate was found in Le Havre, was indeed the woman.
Screenshot of the ‘Le Centre de Généalogie’ Discord server, message dated 8 May 2025 at 8:30 PM (UTC+2)
Another argument comes from the American social security application of Suzanne, wife Prevost. This document proves that Suzanne was born on 2 February 1894, not 2 February 1896.
"United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KQQ-5HD3 : Sat Apr 26 04:39:30 UTC 2025), Entry for Suzanne Prevost and Unknown Unknown.
Why the confusion with ‘Fabre’?
No Suzanne Fabre born in Le Havre during this period with the same first names has been found in the French civil registry. The most plausible hypothesis is that of confusion during indexing or an administrative error, perhaps linked to the possible birth out of wedlock of the Prevost-Fontaine couple's first child, in a context where the parents' marriage has not been found in the archives. It is not uncommon in American documents for the mother's maiden name to be incorrectly transcribed or replaced by a customary surname or that of a close relative.
Birth certificate for Suzanne Louise Marie Fontaine, dated 5 February 1894, for a birth on 2 February 1894. © Archives départementales de Seine-Maritime
There are indeed several Suzanne Fabre's born in France in the 1890s, but they all stayed in France and none of them match the migratory route of Suzanne Fontaine, who emigrated to the United States and died in Detroit in 1979. The most plausible hypothesis is therefore a misinterpretation or indexing error: ‘Fabre’ could be a distortion of the name ‘Havre’, misunderstood or mistranscribed by American agents when recording documents, especially if the accent or handwriting led to confusion.
To sum up, all the serious official and genealogical sources confirm that the paternal grandmother of Pope Leo XIV was Suzanne Fontaine, born in Le Havre in 1894, and that the mention of ‘Fabre’ in certain American documents is the result of a confusion, probably phonetic or administrative, and not a genealogical reality.
Image credit: Michael, "Leo XIV wooden blocks with industrial smokestack polluting the air in the background", Adobe Stock
