By Vatican News
With a glance at Pope Leo’s childhood, family ties, friendships, studies, formation, vocation, first steps in consecrated life, social commitment, sporting passions, and food preferences, Leo from Chicago offers an in-depth and, in many ways, previously unseen portrait of Pope Leo XIV. This documentary, produced by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Apostolado El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización (ESNE), retraces the history and roots of the Pope in his native land: the United States.
The journey—carried out by journalists Deborah Castellano Lubov, Salvatore Cernuzio, and Felipe Herrera-Espaliat—unfolds through the neighborhoods of Chicago, beginning at the Prevost’s family home in Dolton, with memories and stories shared by his two brothers, Louis Martin and John. It then moves to the offices, schools, and parishes led by the Augustinians; the Catholic Theological Union; and the places often visited by the then-Father Robert Francis Prevost, such as Aurelio’s Pizza restaurant or Rate Field, the stadium of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The itinerary extends further to Villanova University, just outside of Philadelphia, and to Port Charlotte, Florida, to visit his older brother.