Pope's Brother: I Was Watching Newsmax When Announcement Came

Louis Prevost, the eldest brother of Robert Prevost, the former cardinal named as Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, told Newsmax on Sunday that he learned the news about his brother while he was home off work and watching the network.

"Thursday, I was not feeling well at all," Prevost told Newsmax's Ed Henry in an interview appearing on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda." "So I had notified my work that I was going to like lay low today, stay in bed, try to get some rest and feel better the next day."

He said he was sleeping when his wife called to tell him that white smoke had appeared above the Sistine Chapel to signify that a pope had been chosen.

"I turned the TV on," he said. "I was watching Newsmax. You guys were live. It had the little chimney in the corner."

Prevost added that the wait to hear who was named seemed like forever.

"When the cardinal came out to announce to the crowd that we have a new Pope, then I'm sitting up in bed," he said. "I'm waiting, and he starts to say the name 'Roberto.' And as soon as he started, [my] mind started blowing because I think there was only one other cardinal with the name Robert. And when he said 'Francisco,' that sealed it because there's no Robert Francis [other] than Robert Francis Prevost."

Prevost said when he heard the news, he was "up out of bed in a shot, got dressed, ran to the other room, put it on the big TV and sat there in awe."

He told Henry that he can't describe his "feelings of joy and exuberance."

"Imagine it's your little brother," said Prevost. "He's the Pope. Yes, it's an indescribable feeling. I'm super proud of him."

He joked that when he was watching his brother do his initial prayer as Pope and heard him switch to Spanish, "I said, 'OK, quit showing off, you little jerk.' But he did his thing, and my mind immediately flashed back to the '50s and '60s growing up, and I thought, 'Remember that time way back when, when we used to tease him about being the Pope?' And he's the Pope."

Prevost acknowledged that the news has changed his own behavior a bit.

"I've had to modify my activities and what I do, what I say, what I write in public spaces or say in public spaces," he said. "I've seen a couple already, 'the Pope's brother said this.' I don't want to get him in trouble or raise any grief or cause problems."

But he also recalled how when he, his brother the Pope, and their other brother John were growing up in Dalton, Illinois, and how the future Pope was teased about pretending to be a priest.

Their family was also very religious and prayed the Rosary every night after dinner, he said.

He said that as his brother got older, at age 5 or 6, "while me and my friends are out playing with cap pistols and BB guns, and Rob wants to play priest, and we used to tease him to no end about that. Come on, come on, let's do something."

Prevost added that their parents were "super supportive" but never put pressure on their children.

"He just had this calling, I believe, since birth," he said. "You could just see the way he acted, behaved, was around our parents and other kids. There was something different."

Meanwhile, there have been reports about statements the new Pope has made about President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, but Prevost said he and his brother have not had many political discussions since he left home.

"When he was bishop or cardinal, we'd occasionally have discussions," said Prevost. "He knows where I stand, I know where he stands, and now as Pope, there are going to be some differences there."

He added that he believes his brother will be able to get along with Trump, while they don't agree on everything.

Prevost also said he believes his brother, like Pope Francis before him, will travel about the world, and he hopes he comes to America.

"I don't see him staying in Rome," he said. "So now here's an American pope who can speak American English. You might pay closer attention to what he's saying. And just by understanding what he's saying, watching him being, seeing how he reacts around people and with people, you're drawn towards him and thus drawn back towards the church. So I see him helping greatly rejuvenate the church here."

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