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.

The world is still adjusting to the historic election of Pope Leo XIV—the first American Pope and a native of the Chicago area—but new revelations about his ancestry are drawing attention far beyond the Vatican.

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S. pope, descends from Creole and free people of color in Louisiana, highlighting complex issues to race and class in American history.

Pope Leo XIV's family tree reflects America's complex racial history, according to records obtained by ABC News.

When [Pope Leo] came to the balcony, I looked up, and I was like, ‘That dude looks like he could be my brother,” a New Orleans priest said.

Pope Leo XIV may have been born in Chicago, but he has Creole roots in New Orleans. Why it matters: The new pope, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, has a family history that tells a uniquely American story.

In Chicago, New Orleans and beyond, elated worshipers and priests celebrated their immediate sense of connection with Pope Leo.

NEW ORLEANS — As the smoke at the Vatican turned white ... Cardinal Robert Prevost, who chose the name Pope Leo the XIV, was born in Chicago. Archbishop Aymond says this is a great point of pride for Americans and hopes it'll attract more people to ...