The election of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, has aroused worldwide interest not only for his atypical career, but also for his cosmopolitan family roots. While his French, Spanish and Creole ancestry were already known, a team of French-speaking genealogists has just shed new light on a long-standing enigma: the Sicilian origins of the pontiff's paternal grandfather.
A genealogical enigma solved thanks to Francophone collaboration
As soon as the election of Leo XIV was announced, the Centre de Généalogie, a group of passionate researchers, set about reconstructing his family tree. The identity of the paternal grandfather, John R. Prevost, soon proved to be a puzzle: American documents listed him as either French or Italian, with a birth date of 24 June 1876. The possibility that Giovanni Prevosto was born in Piedmont was ruled out, leaving the mystery unresolved.
It was the meticulous examination of American archives, and in particular the Alien Registration Act of 1940, that brought the truth to light. This law required all foreign residents to register with the federal authorities, generating invaluable individual files for genealogists. John R. Prevost's file revealed that he was in fact born Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano Alioti on 24 June 1876 in Italy.
From a Sicilian port to the Chicago education scene
The Milazzo civil registry confirms the birth of Salvatore Giovanni, son of Santi Riggitano and Maria Alioti. In 1903, he left Italy aboard the Perugia, via Naples, to join his brother-in-law already living in New York. After a spell in Quincy, where he taught music, he settled in Chicago, where he became a language teacher, teaching Italian, French and Spanish to several generations of pupils.
Birth certificate for Salvatore Giovanni RIGGITANO, born on 24 June 1876 in Milazzo.
French, Italian and Creole roots
While Pope Leo XIV's paternal branch has its roots in Sicily, it is also intertwined with France, via his paternal grandmother, Suzanne Marie Louise Fontaine, born in Le Havre in 1894, from a Norman line. On her mother's side, the Martinez-Baquié family illustrates the Creole diversity of New Orleans, blending French, Spanish, African and West Indian ancestors.
Robert Francis PREVOST family tree, visible on Geneanet
A family heritage in the image of the universal Church
Robert Francis Prevost's family history reflects the richness and complexity of transatlantic migration. It also illustrates the power of collaborative genealogical work, made possible by passion and digital tools. Thanks to the tenacity of the Centre de Généalogie, the Sicilian ancestry of the first North American pope has now been established, adding a new dimension to the figure of Leo XIV, heir to a world with multiple roots.
The story of Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano Alioti, who became John R. Prevost, symbolises the destiny of so many immigrants who, by changing continent and sometimes name, have helped to shape the history of great American families... and, today, that of the universal Catholic Church.
Image credit: Michael, "Leo XIV wooden blocks with industrial smokestack polluting the air in the background", Adobe Stock
