NEED TO KNOW
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Henry Louis Gates Jr. the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS show Finding Your Roots, traveled to the Vatican on July 5 to meet with Pope Leo XIV to present his genealogical research
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His research confirmed that Pope Leo XIV is related to several celebrities including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Justin Bieber, among others
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It was also confirmed that Pope Leo has mixed Black and European ancestry
Henry Louis Gates Jr. is taking on his latest genealogy adventure!
On Saturday, July 5, the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS show Finding Your Roots traveled to the Vatican to meet with Pope Leo XIV to present his genealogical research on his family tree.
Gates, 74, confirmed that the first American pontiff is related to Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber, Pierre and Justin Trudeau, Hilary Clinton, and Jack Kerouac, which was previously reported by The New York Times.
Pope Leo, 69 is ninth-cousin several times removed to the high profile bunch, and they are linked through a maternal ancestor who was born in the 1590s, per Gates’ research.
Additionally, the pope has two freedom fighters in his family tree, and has multiracial lineage. Gates was able to trace Pope Leo’s ancestry back 15 generations, and confirmed that several of his ancestors were enslaved people, while others in his lineage were slaveholders. He also has mixed Black and European ancestry.
Antoine Mekary/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty; Chesnot/Getty; Dominik Bindl/Getty; Theo Wargo/Getty; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
From top left (clockwise): Pope Leo, Justin Trudeau, Hilary Clinton, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Justin Bieber
Following the meeting, Gates marked their visit on Instagram, calling it “one of the most meaningful and deeply moving moments of our lives.”
In his post, which featured several photos from their visit, Gates wrote: “On Saturday, my wife, the historian Dr. Marial Iglesias Utset, and I were granted the profound honor of a private audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican to present him with a copy of his family tree.”
“She and I had worked with an outstanding team of researchers to publish it in The New York Times Sunday Magazine and were deeply grateful for the chance to walk His Holiness through the branches of his family tree, sharing stories of his ancestors back to his 12th great-grandparents who were born some 500 years ago,” he continued. “This was one of the most meaningful and deeply moving moments of our lives.”
Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost, was born and raised in Chicago, and always had a calling to the role.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Prevost was raised by his parents, Louis, an educator, and Mildred, a librarian, alongside his two siblings, Louis and John.
He is also a dual citizen of Peru, having previously served as the leader of the Augustinian order after serving as the bishop of the city of Chiclayo, Peru.
Sacred Heart University catholic studies professor Dr. Charlie Gillepsie previously told PEOPLE that the new pope’s election is a “clear signal that the College of Cardinals felt the calling of the spirit to elect someone for the whole globe.”
Gillepsie said he was “surprised and excited,” about the first American pontiff.
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ABC News spoke to one of his two brothers, John Prevost, upon Pope Leo’s election to the papacy.
“I don’t know how many people will find it interesting, but when he was in first grade, a woman across the street that we used to play with the kids, and a woman down the street said he would be the first American pope. In first grade, they said that,” said Prevost in May.
New episodes of Finding Your Roots air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on PBS, and are available to stream online.
Read the original article on People
