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From the South Side to the Vatican and What Pope Leo XIV Means to Immigrant Youth in Chicago
How stories from Chicago’s neighborhoods reflect a global message of dignity, faith, and the fight for equitable opportunity
On May 8, 2025, history shifted. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, was elected Pope Leo XIV…the first American to ever hold the papacy.
His roots are unmistakably local, but his message is global.
He was raised by a Creole mother and a working-class father of French and Italian descent. He spent decades doing missionary work in Peru and became a citizen there, learning not just language, but culture, suffering, and solidarity.
His journey from altar boy on the South Side to the leader of the Catholic Church mirrors the journeys of many young people in Chicago today…especially those raised in immigrant households navigating systems not designed with them in mind.
“Dignity is not something given. It is something cultivated through commitment and compassion.”
