In an unexpected twist blending pop culture and papal history, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, is a distant relative of music icon Madonna, according to a genealogical study published by The New York Times on 12 June, 2025.
The research, conducted with American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, traces the Chicago-born Pope’s ancestry back 500 years, uncovering a shared French-Canadian ancestor, Louis Boucher de Grandpré, born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in the 1590s. This connection makes Pope Leo XIV and Madonna ninth cousins, various times removed.
The revelation has sparked intrigue, especially given Madonna’s complex history with the Catholic Church. The Vatican criticised her 1989 “Like a Prayer” video for its provocative imagery, and in 2022, Madonna jokingly tweeted at Pope Francis about her “three excommunications.” Now, her distant cousin, Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, leads the Church. This ancestral link highlights the surprising ways history connects the sacred and the sensational.
The irony hasn’t gone unnoticed, with posts on social media buzzing about the “holy pop” connection.
The study also links Pope Leo XIV to other celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton, and Justin Trudeau, through the same Quebec ancestor.
Madonna, born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Michigan, shares French-Canadian roots, previously tying her to Celine Dion.
Pope Leo XIV, elected on May 8, 2025, after Pope Francis’s death, has not commented on the findings. Known for his missionary work in Peru and focus on issues like climate change and peace, the 69-year-old pontiff brings a progressive voice to the Vatican.
Meanwhile, Madonna is gearing up for her Veronica Electronica album release on July 25.
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