Pope Leo XIV's Surprising Celebrity Family Tree: Unveiling the Connections
When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025, he made history as the first American to hold the papal title. Shortly after, a collaborative effort by The New York Times, American Ancestors, and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami revealed some surprising celebrity connections in his family tree. It was discovered that the pope, Madonna, and Justin Bieber are distant cousins, all descending from French settler Louis Boucher de Grandpré who arrived in Quebec in the 1500s. This shared ancestry spans across various countries, including France, Italy, Spain, the United States, Cuba, Canada, Haiti, and Guadeloupe, with African American roots from his grandfather's migration to New Orleans in 1866.
The pope's lineage extends to notable figures like Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton, and Pierre and Justin Trudeau, sparking social media buzz about the unexpected family ties between the Bishop of Rome and pop culture icons and world leaders. Genealogist Brenton Simons described the pope's ancestry as a diverse tapestry of global migration, cultural blending, and resilience. Despite these connections, Pope Leo XIV remains focused on his duties, using his platform to advocate for peace in conflict zones like Ukraine and Gaza and calling for diplomatic dialogue between India and Pakistan. This revelation of his celebrity relatives serves as a reminder that even the Vatican can have a familial connection to the entertainment industry and political sphere in today's interconnected world.