As a historically Catholic city, New Orleans was always going to celebrate the new pope. Zoom in: But once news broke that Pope Leo XIV has roots in New Orleans as a "Creole of color," the celebration leveled up considerably.

The pope's Creole roots in New Orleans are a source of pride among the city's Black Catholics. But the revelation also recalls a painful chapter in the city's past. “In New Orleans, everyone treats visitors as family.

This is like a reward from God,” a local parishioner said, as researchers unearthed more details about the lives of Leo XIV’s ancestors in the heart of the city’s Afro-Caribbean culture.