Within his family, the Pope is close to his brother John Prevost, who is one year older than him. In an interview last August, John, who lives in the United States, said that he was in daily contact with the pontiff. The two brothers continued to play Wordle and Words With Friends online. Leo XIV also confides in him: it was John who revealed that the Pope intended to spend time regularly at his residence in Castel Gandolfo.
Augustinian successors
In the wider circle of his spiritual family, the Order of Saint Augustine, Leo XIV has close ties with the Spaniard Alejandro Moral Anton, who succeeded him as head of the community in 2013. “There is great trust between us and we have a long-standing friendship. [...] Robert is a very respectful person. We can discuss any subject freely and calmly — including soccer — over a cup of coffee,” he said.
Robert Prevost also has a friendship with the new Prior General of the Augustinians, Father Joseph Farrell. The 62-year-old American is close enough to the pope to be able to write to him on WhatsApp and receive an immediate reply, as journalist Christopher White recounts in his biography Pope Leo XIV (Loyola Press). The day after the election, when asked about the pontiff's favorite baseball team — Cubs or White Sox? — Farrell sent him a direct message, and the reply came shortly after: “Sox.”
A Chicago connection
In the Vatican, the friendship between the Pope and Father Manuel Dorantes, director of Borgo Laudato Si’ in Castel Gandolfo, is well known. The priest from the Archdiocese of Chicago — like Robert Prevost — emigrated from Mexico to the United States at the age of 11 and graduated with a degree in management. He was appointed to the Castel Gandolfo position by Pope Francis a few months before his death, in November 2024.
Upon his election, Leo XIV showed his interest in and support for the ecological center run by his fellow citizen, which he inaugurated and has visited on several occasions.
The Pope's two secretaries
Since his arrival on the Throne of Peter, Leo XIV has provided himself with two private secretaries to assist him on a daily basis. The first is the Peruvian priest Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga. Aged 36, he’s from the Diocese of Chiclayo, led by Robert Prevost from 2015 to 2023. He worked with the latter until 2017, before leaving for Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. When Bishop Prevost was called in 2023 to head the Dicastery for Bishops, he brought the young priest with him.
Recently, the pontiff called a second secretary to his side: Father Marco Billeri, a canonist from the Italian diocese of San Miniato in Tuscany, who was an ecclesiastical judge and parish priest. “The less someone called to fulfill this kind of role speaks, the better,” said the 41-year-old priest at the time of his appointment, adopting the discretion of Leo XIV.
Leo's support for two journalists
In addition, the 267th pope has a relationship of trust with certain journalists. Among them is Paola Ugaz of Peru, who investigated the Sodalitium movement despite a very hostile climate, uncovering serious scandals of abuse and corruption.
“In 2019,” she said, "I became the most prosecuted journalist in Peru, a very sad title to bear. I was the target of lies, online harassment, and death threats ... Robert Prevost, along with other Peruvian bishops, supported me greatly. Not only through his friendship, but also by allowing me to meet with Pope Francis on several occasions to alert him to the situation."
Along with Paola Ugaz, American journalist Elise Ann Allen, Rome correspondent for the Catholic website Crux, also investigated the case. Both were among the journalists whom Pope Leo XIV personally greeted during the press audience on May 12. The Pope then chose to give his first official interview to Allen, who was able to meet with him for a total of three hours at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.
Among the ranks of the College of Cardinals
Among the American leaders of the Church, three cardinals are cited by observers as being close to Leo XIV. First mentioned is Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, who was received with a delegation of American Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims during the Pope's vacation in Castel Gandolfo. Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, is also mentioned, as is Seán O'Malley, former Archbishop of Boston and a leading figure in the fight against abuse.
On the French side of the Church, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille, is a voice that carries weight with the Pope. The recent visit by Leo XIV to Ostia to meet the crew of the Bel Espoir, a ship launched by the Archdiocese of Marseille, was a sign of this. “He has great esteem for Cardinal Aveline. They knew each other well when Cardinal Prevost was at the Dicastery for Bishops,” says a Roman source.
According to this expert, however, Leo XIV remains mysterious and “doesn’t reveal his preferences.” “He’s cautious and respectful, kind to everyone. And so far, he has made too few appointments to see more clearly,” he adds.
The choice of his successor at the head of the Dicastery for Bishops came as a surprise. Various names of cardinals had been put forward, but in the end it was the Italian Archbishop Filippo Iannone, a canonist and Curia official, who was appointed to this strategic position by the Pope.
