NEW ORLEANS — The newly elected Pope Leo XIV has ties to Louisiana from more than a century ago, a New Orleans historian and genealogist said Thursday.
The former Cardinal Robert Prevost, elevated to the papacy Thursday, has connections to the New Orleans Creole community, said historian Jari Christopher Honora. Honora posted a marriage certificate that says Prevost’s maternal grandparents Joseph Martínez and Louise Baquie married at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart on Annette Street in New Orleans in 1887.
Honora, who has written for the Historic New Orleans Connection, added that at the turn of the 20th century the couple lived on North Prieur Street in the Seventh Ward before it was overtaken by the Claiborne Avenue overpass. The family then moved to Chicago between 1910 and 1912.
“What a great connection for our local population!” Honora said in a Facebook post sharing Census and marriage records.
According to AvoyollesToday.com, Joseph Martínez’ grandfather was an Italian immigrant — Jacques Martino — who married a woman from East Feliciana Parish. When he moved to New Orleans, Martino’s name was changed to Martínez.
Rep. Troy Carter celebrated the pontiff’s local ties, calling the occasion of an American Pope with Creole ancestry a testament to “the enduring strength and global reach of New Orleans’ diverse faith community.”
“The news that the first American Pope has roots here in New Orleans, with ancestral ties to our Creole and Haitian families, is nothing short of extraordinary. It reminds the world that greatness rises from every corner — including communities that history has too often overlooked or underestimated,” Carter said.
Honora has a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and his LinkedIn profile shows that he worked as a research intern at the Archdiocese of New Orleans while in college.
