One year after his election, Pope Leo XIV still calls home nearly every day amid the demands of leading the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, his brother John Prevost said.
“I think it’s important for him, because it’s a moment to get out of the role and just talk,” Prevost told journalist Erin Burnett in an interview that aired May 7. “I think it is a moment to rest for him.”
Prevost said the Pope values moments when he can speak simply “brother-to-brother.” The two also continue to play “Words with Friends” online, and the Pope usually wins.
Before becoming Pontiff, Pope Leo regularly helped with projects, such as trimming trees, during his visits home, Prevost said. He also described his brother as technologically savvy, recalling how Pope Leo recently helped him over the phone when Prevost got locked out of a new computer.
“We miss each other,” Prevost said. “I think very much he misses his family.”
But Prevost said the larger adjustment has been reconciling the global figure of the Pope with the brother he has known his entire life.
“At first, it’s, ‘Oh, there’s the Pope.’ And then it’s, ‘Oh wait, that’s my brother,’” he said.
The interview also touched on the Pope’s family dynamics amid heightened political attention surrounding the first American Pontiff. President Donald Trump has publicly referenced another of the Pope’s brothers, Louis Prevost. Trump described him as “all MAGA” and said he preferred him politically to the Holy Father.
John Prevost said politics is rarely a topic of conversation between himself and the Pope.
“Certain times, it may come up,” Prevost said. “But nothing he may say is going to change my opinion, and nothing I say is going to change his opinion. So why discuss it?”
Instead, he said, their conversations focus on family and daily life.
“We just go on with what we’re doing, what’s new in our lives, where we’re going next,” Prevost said. “Families fight, but family is forever.”
Pope’s peace appeals draw criticism, threats
During the first year of his pontificate, Pope Leo has repeatedly called for peace and condemned war, including the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Fr. Ray Flores, an Augustinian priest and the pastor at the Illinois parish the Prevost family attends, said the Pope began demonstrating his desire for peace from the moment he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“It’s the peace of Jesus Christ,” Fr. Flores said. “It’s the first thing he said when he appeared on the balcony after he was elected Pope: ‘Peace be with you.’ That’s been his consistent message for the past year.”
The Pope’s comments on war have drawn criticism from Trump, who has called him “terrible for foreign policy” and falsely claimed the Pope supports Iran’s desire to obtain a nuclear weapon. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, has also criticized some of the Pontiff’s remarks, saying it is “very very important” for the Pope to “be careful” when speaking on matters of theology.
During the interview, Burnett also referenced threats directed at the Pope’s family, including a bomb threat reported at John Prevost’s home last month.
>> Bomb threat at Pope Leo’s brother’s home found unsubstantiated <<
Asked how he handles the scrutiny and backlash, Prevost said faith has helped sustain him.
“You just keep going,” Prevost said. “There’s a matter of what is known as faith, and it deepens our faith because we do what we’re doing because it’s a role we’ve been put into.”
The ‘Leo effect’
The interview also touched on increased Church participation, particularly among young adults, in some U.S. dioceses since Pope Leo’s election. Fr. Flores referred to that trend as the “Leo effect.”
The priest said younger Catholics appear drawn to what they see as authenticity in the Pope’s message and communication style.
“I think young people are looking for authentic connection,” Fr. Flores said. “Leo offers that in who he is as a person. He speaks the truth in a way people can understand, in a way people feel connected.”
>> Gen Z Catholics fill pews in New York, San Francisco amid renewed interest in faith <<
John Prevost said he has also heard directly from people who say the Pope inspired them to reengage with the Church.
“I get letters. I have people coming to the door,” Prevost said, “telling me that he has enthused them to return to the Church.”