(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV’s brother John Prevost said Leo was “very close” to Pope Francis when the late pontiff was alive.
In an exclusive interview with NBC Chicago on Friday, John Prevost answered a host of questions about his younger brother on topics ranging from the mundane to the mystifying.
When asked what it was about his brother that signaled he might become pope in the wake of Francis’ death, Prevost said many things were in his favor, including the time he served in Peru, his experience as a prior general with global authority over the Order of St. Augustine, and being multilingual.
What stood out to Prevost, however, is that his brother was called up first by Francis when he was made a cardinal along with 20 other prelates in 2023.
“What was the pope saying, by calling him up first?” remarked Prevost.
NBC 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern then asked if Leo was close to Francis. Prevost assured her, “Very close. They were very good friends.”
One of Leo’s friends, Rev. Tony Pizzo, spoke similarly to The New York Times in May, sharing at the time, “Pope Leo spoke of Pope Francis as a good friend.”
NYT also reported at the time that while “future Leo” was living in Rome, Francis met with him every Saturday and was very impressed by his work. Father Moral Antón said Francis told him, “Prevost’s preparation was amazing.”
Ahern remarked how meaningful it was that Francis appointed Leo as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a powerful position in which he selected priests to be proposed to the pope for the episcopate.
“That alone — that responsibility will tell you, Pope Francis is saying something here,” said Prevost.
While Leo has said in the past that he didn’t always agree with Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, his own appointment by Francis as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops appears to indicate a significant level of common ground between the two men. Several prelates and Leo’s own brother have suggested this is the case by predicting that Leo will continue in the footsteps of Francis.
For example, heterodox Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., opined in a May interview that Pope Leo XIV will continue on the progressive path of Pope Francis.
“I think many cardinals, and ultimately the majority, saw him as someone who could carry forward (Francis’) trajectory in its essential elements. He’ll have a different personality than Pope Francis and will emphasize some different things, but the substance of Francis’ pontificate will endure,” the cardinal said.
Later in the interview, McElroy said, “I return to the five key contributions of Francis’ pontificate: missionary discipleship, synodality, the rejection of judgmentalism, the field hospital model of the church and the desire to embed all of these in the church’s culture.”
“I believe Pope Leo will carry these contributions forward and help integrate them more deeply into the global church,” he added.
John Prevost has also previously said that he expects the new pope to continue “the tradition of Pope Francis.”
Early in his interview with NBC Chicago, John Prevost shared how he is often contacted by people asking him to relay their requests to the pope, most often asking for prayers for an ill relative. Among these was a petition by a group of people asking Leo to allow their church in North Chicago to stay open. Under Cardinal Blase Cupich’s “Renew My Church” program, more than 88 churches and parishes were targeted for consolidation. Many of these were subsequently closed and 25 have been slated for sale.
“I can say yes, I’ll get this letter to the pope, but more than that I cannot do,” said Prevost regarding this request and the others he receives.
