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The maternal side of Pope Leo XIV’s family can be traced back to at least the 1840s among “free people of color” in New Orleans, according to Jari C. Honora, a genealogist with the Historic New Orleans Collection, a research center documenting the city’s history.

Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., who represents New Orleans, also released a statement Thursday highlighting Pope Leo XIV’s “ancestral ties to our Creole and Haitian families,” saying he was proud “As a Black man” and “a proud son of New Orleans.”

Pope Leo XIV’s maternal grandparents, along with his mother’s older siblings, were “identified in records as Black or mulatto,” Honora told Forbes, but the family “passed … into a white racial identity” when they relocated to Chicago, where the pope’s mother—Mildred Martinez—was born in 1912.

. . . . Honora said in a Facebook post Thursday “Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has Creole of color roots from New Orleans on his mother's side!” He told The Times-Picayune a marriage license shows Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, the pope’s grandparents, married in 1887 at Our Lady of Sacred Heart church in New Orleans. Those records show Joseph Martinez listed Haiti as his birthplace, Honora told the newspaper. He added the family was listed as living at 1933 North Prieur St. in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that was demolished during the construction of the Claiborne Avenue overpass, which critics say significantly disrupted vibrant Black neighborhoods in the city.

Honora tracked down a marriage license that showed the Pope's maternal grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, were wed at Our Lady of Sacred Heart on Annette Street in 1887. Joseph Martinez claimed Haiti as his birthplace, Honora said, "which could very much be true, given the back-and-forth that has always existed between New Orleans and Haiti. Or he could have deeper New Orleans roots. (I'm) still working on that."

During the 1900 U.S. census, the couple was listed as residing at 1933 North Prieur Street, a site later demolished due to the construction of the Claiborne Avenue overpass. They were also described as Black, and Joseph Martinez was said to have an occupation as a cigar maker.
About 10 years later, the family moved to Chicago, where the pope's mother was born.

"Martinez's older brothers and sisters were all born in New Orleans, in the 7th Ward," Honora said. "They moved to Chicago between 1910 and 1912, and like so many Louisiana families, they shifted their racial identity. They moved to a big metropolis and go about what people assume you are."