News
Destined to be pope:Brother says Leo XIV always wanted to be a priest
Robert Prevost’s brother, John, said a neighbor once told him he’d be pope.
Who is Pope Leo XIV?The 69-year-old Chicago native is the first American pope and is seen as a diplomat in the church.
When Robert Prevost was in the first grade, his neighbor told him he would be the first American pope, his brother told ABC News.
On Thursday, that prophecy came true, when Prevost, a 69-year-old cardinal, was elected to be the 267th pontiff — and the first from the United States.
Before he was Pope Leo XIV, Prevost grew up the youngest of three brothers in the South Chicago suburb of Dolton.
He always wanted to be a priest, his older brother, John Prevost, told ABC News outside his home in Illinois on Thursday.
“He knew right away.
I don’t think he’s ever questioned it. I don’t think he’s ever thought of anything else,” John Prevost said.
As a child, Pope Leo XIV “played priest,” John Prevost said. “The ironing board was the altar.”
The pope is a White Sox fan, his brother confirmed. “He’s a regular, run-of-the-mill person,” he said.
Leo started to emerge as a frontrunner for the papacy in the days before the conclave began, according to the Rev. James Martin, a papal contributor to ABC News.
John Prevost said he spoke to his brother on Tuesday, before the cardinals went into the secretive conclave, and told his younger brother that he also believed he could be the first American pope. At the time, his younger brother called it “nonsense” and “just talk,” saying, “‘They’re not going to pick an American pope,” John Prevost said.
“He just didn’t believe it, or didn’t want to believe it,” John Prevost said.
John Prevost said he expects his brother will follow in the late Pope Francis’ footsteps as a voice for the disenfranchised and poor.
“I think they were two of a kind,” John Prevost said. “I think because they both were in South America at the same time — in Peru and in Argentina — they had the same experiences in working with missions and working with the downtrodden. So I think that’s the experience that they’re both coming from.”
Louis Prevost, the eldest of the three Prevost brothers, was feeling under the weather and lying in bed at his home in Florida when the big moment came.
“My wife called to tell me there’s white smoke from the chapel,” he said.
Louis Prevost said he tuned in to the live broadcast of the Vatican announcement.
“They started reading his name, and when he went, ‘blah, blah, blah, Roberto,’ immediately I knew — that’s Rob,” he said. “I was just thankful I was still in bed lying down, because I might have fallen down.”
Louis Prevost said he got out of bed and started “dancing around like an idiot.”
“It’s just incredible,” he said. “I’m suddenly wide awake and feeling wonderful.”
He described his brother as “down to earth,” someone who has a good sense of humor and is “smart as a whip.” He loved his work as a missionary in Peru and being with the people, and through his work with the Vatican has traveled the world, Louis Prevost said.
“I thought I had done traveling in the Navy, but, my God, he blew me away,” he said.
His brother surmised that global experience may have stood out to the other cardinals in electing him pope.
Louis Prevost said his brother seemed to always know his calling, and that as young as 4 or 5, the family knew he was destined for great things in the Catholic Church. When his brothers were playing cops and robbers, Leo would “play priest” and distribute Holy Communion with Necco wafers, Louis Prevost said.
“We used to tease him all the time — you’re going to be the pope one day,” he said. “Neighbors said the same thing. Sixty-some years later, here we are.”
Leo started to emerge as a frontrunner for the papacy in the days before the conclave began, according to the Rev. James Martin, a papal contributor to ABC News.
John Prevost said he spoke to his brother on Tuesday, before the cardinals went into the secretive conclave, and told his younger brother that he also believed he could be the first American pope. At the time, his younger brother called it “nonsense” and “just talk,” saying, “‘They’re not going to pick an American pope,” John Prevost said.
“He just didn’t believe it, or didn’t want to believe it,” John Prevost said.
John Prevost said he expects his brother will follow in the late Pope Francis’ footsteps as a voice for the disenfranchised and poor.
“I think they were two of a kind,” John Prevost said. “I think because they both were in South America at the same time — in Peru and in Argentina — they had the same experiences in working with missions and working with the downtrodden. So I think that’s the experience that they’re both coming from.”
Louis Prevost, the eldest of the three Prevost brothers, was feeling under the weather and lying in bed at his home in Florida when the big moment came.
“My wife called to tell me there’s white smoke from the chapel,” he said.
Louis Prevost said he tuned in to the live broadcast of the Vatican announcement.
“They started reading his name, and when he went, ‘blah, blah, blah, Roberto,’ immediately I knew — “that’s Rob,” he said. “I was just thankful I was still in bed lying down, because I might have fallen down.”
Louis Prevost said he got out of bed and started “dancing around like an idiot.”
“It’s just incredible,” he said. “I’m suddenly wide awake and feeling wonderful.”
He described his brother as “down to earth,” someone who has a good sense of humor and is “smart as a whip.” He loved his work as a missionary in Peru and being with the people, and through his work with the Vatican has traveled the world, Louis Prevost said.
“I thought I had done traveling in the Navy, but, my God, he blew me away,” he said.
By Alex Perez and Meredith Deliso
Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando told court on Thursday that then State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena was also aware of intelligence information and had acted to conceal it, while also testifying that he believed former President Maithripala Sirisena had prior knowledge of the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Fernando made the statement while giving evidence before a Trial-at-Bar in the case filed against him over alleged negligence in failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings.
He said he believed that Sirisena, who at the time also held the posts of Defence Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, had been aware of intelligence inputs relating to the impending attacks.
The former Defence Secretary further alleged that Jayawardena, then Director of the SIS, was also privy to the information and had acted to suppress it.
Fernando is indicted on charges of criminal dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to act on prior intelligence warnings ahead of the coordinated attacks.
Defending his position in court, he maintained that responsibility for the failure lay elsewhere.
“The President, who was the Defence Minister and head of the armed forces, had left the country. As the most senior official, I have been dragged into this case. If the information I presented had been properly examined, this case would not have been filed against me. Those responsible are still at large,” he told court.
The National Child Protection Authority has warned that corporal punishment continues to cause serious harm to children, revealing that it receives between 2,000 and 2,500 complaints of physical violence against children each year — averaging between five and seven complaints a day.
Issuing a statement to mark the International Day to End Corporal Punishment on April 30, the NCPA said both short-term and long-term physical and psychological punishment could severely affect a child’s personality development and emotional wellbeing.
NCPA Chairperson Preethi Inoka Ranasinghe said research had consistently demonstrated the damaging effects of corporal punishment used in disciplining children.
“For decades, parents, elders and teachers have used various forms of physical punishment to discipline children, making it a socially and culturally accepted practice both at home and in schools,” she said.
The Authority stressed that corporal punishment constitutes physical abuse and should not be used under any circumstances.
According to the NCPA, complaints relating to physical violence remain the second highest category of complaints received annually by the institution, with between 2,000 and 2,500 incidents reported each year.
Based on those figures, the Authority receives approximately 5.5 to 6.8 complaints of child physical violence every day.
The NCPA further noted that under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are entitled to protection from all forms of abuse and neglect, an obligation binding on Sri Lanka since 1990.
The Authority also pointed to Article 11 of the 1978 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as provisions under Section 308(A) of the Penal Code and Education Ministry circulars prohibiting physical and psychological punishment in schools.
The NCPA urged parents, teachers and caregivers to adopt non-violent disciplinary methods and to prioritise the safety and mental wellbeing of children.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that all individuals accused of fraud, corruption and other offences will be brought before the law in the coming weeks, as investigations are being intensified under the NPP administration.
Addressing the Nuwara Eliya District May Day rally on Friday, the President said the government had already strengthened key investigative institutions, including the Criminal Investigation Department and the Bribery Commission, to expedite ongoing probes.
He said a large number of cases involving alleged wrongdoing were now progressing through the legal system, with ten cases scheduled to be taken up in court during May and one case already ordered for a verdict within the month following a directive issued on April 30.
President Dissanayake stressed that the government was acting on a public mandate to ensure accountability, warning that law enforcement action would continue in the months ahead.
He said the administration had taken steps to reverse what he described as a culture of privilege enjoyed by former rulers, while focusing instead on public welfare and governance reform.
“We are making decisions for the people and ensuring that privileges of the ruling class are reduced,” he said, adding that previous governments had worked to expand their own benefits while placing burdens on citizens.
The President claimed that the NPP government had secured the trust of people across all regions, describing it as a “people’s administration” committed to working-class interests.
He also outlined the government’s broader policy direction, including ensuring stable incomes, improved education, housing, the rule of law and national unity.
Warning of further legal action, he said a significant number of individuals accused of corruption would face imprisonment in 2026, adding that no one would be above the law regardless of position or family background.
“We do not distinguish between Presidents, Prime Ministers or their families. The law will apply equally to all offenders,” he said.
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