Is the new pope “Black”? As the world celebrates the first pope from North America, the question has surfaced after a Louisiana genealogist told local news media he discovered that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost possibly has at least two ancestors with African roots.

Louisiana Creole expert Jari Honora, who works at the Historic New Orleans Collection, traced Prevost’s lineage to some of his ancestors who lived in Louisiana. Honora’s research also revealed that Prevost’s maternal ancestors lived in New Orleans before migrating to Chicago in the early 20th century.

Louisiana Creoles are of mixed heritage that includes European ancestry, including French and Spanish.

Honora told local news station WVUE he became curious about the new pope’s ancestry after he heard his last name, Prevost.

“Prevost, that sounds very much like a Louisiana name,” said Honora told WVUE.

U.S. Census records also reveal Prevost’s late mother Mildred Martinez was a mixed-race woman who was born to Black property owners, Haitian-born Joseph Martinez, and Louise Baquié, a Louisiana Creole.

Honora also showed WVUE archived newspapers verifying Prevost’s grandfather lived and worked in Louisiana as a cigar maker, which Honora noted was a very common profession in Louisiana during that period.

To date, there are no known records of Pope Leo XIV referencing his African ancestry from his Creole ancestors.

On Thursday, Prevost was elected as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. Prevost, who was born Sept. 14, 1955 in Chicago, was raised in a devout Catholic family.

Prevost’s historic election marked a significant milestone, as Prevost became the first pope from the United States in the church’s 2,000-year history.

Prevost’s election followed the death of Pope Francis, who died in last month.

Axios reported that New Orleans’ Archbishop Gregory Aymond confirmed the Archdiocese will begin looking into Prevost’s ancestry “immediately.”

More on the history and ancestry of Pope Leo XIV.