The Catholic Church made history by electing Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope. The new pontiff has family in Southwest Florida, including his brother, who lives in Charlotte County.
In Port Charlotte, the brother of Pope Leo XIV, Louis Prevost, expressed his astonishment of the news.
"Shocking. Surprising. Exciting. I'm almost speechless. It's just mind-blowing that my brother was elected pope today. It's incredible," Louis Prevost said.
He recounted the moment he realized his brother had been chosen.
"When the cardinal came out and started to read his name as soon as he went 'Ro,' I knew, you know, he was going to say, 'Roberto', and he did," he said. "And I just freaked out and said, oh, it's Rob. Oh my God."
Reflecting on his brother's path to the papacy, he shared, "We kind of knew he was special. We teased him about being pope when he was 6 years old. Then, when he became cardinal, the rumors floating around in Rome at the time were that he's, like, got a one in three chance of becoming pope."
He also expressed hopes for Pope Leo XIV's leadership.
"I just hope others, you know, here and overseas, that it doesn't turn political because, you know, oh, he's an American. He's going to screw the church up. Hopefully that doesn't happen," Prevost said. "And let's just keep the nationalities, nationalism out of it. And let's just be the Catholic Church and guide the church."
A dear friend of Pope Leo XIV and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Francis Rooney , also spoke with Gulf Coast News about his excitement for the election.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more.