A year into his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV unexpectedly has become something of a lightning rod, drawing public criticism from some — including the U.S. president — while others credit him with a rise in Catholic converts, dubbed “the Leo effect.”
But he’s not the only one whose life changed forever when he was elected to the papacy. His older brothers, John and Louis, found themselves thrust into the public spotlight after decades of quiet private lives.
One scary effect of the sudden attention? Recently a bomb threat was made against John Prevost, a retired Catholic school principal, at his home in the Chicago suburbs.
On May 6, John Prevost appeared on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront, where he discussed the recent bomb threat, the sudden rise to fame, and how the brothers are staying close through it all.
His faith is what is carrying him through these attacks and trials, Prevost said. Burnett asked him:
The president has said things [and] accused your brother of endangering a lot of Catholics and being terrible for foreign policy and a variety of things like that. How do you rise above that when you yourself have faced death threats? Your life has changed because of your brother's role.
Prevost replied:
You just keep going, you know. You just keep going. And then there's a matter of what is known as faith. And it deepens our faith, because we do what we're doing because it's a role we've been put into, and we just go ahead and do it.
Prevost has shared in previous interviews that he and Pope Leo talk every day. Burnett asked how the brothers stay close despite their different opinions on politics:
You went from being three close brothers, and now it's so public. President Trump, as you know, has talked about your other brother, Louis, and he calls him a supporter and a “MAGA all the way.” And I know Louis went to the White House. But that's not the point. The point is that you and your brothers, I understand, still talk together every week, and you talk to Leo every day. What I just find here is that so many Americans can find hope in that—that regardless of the politics, that there can be brothers and family and love. Can you just talk about that? Because I think so many people want to hear how they, too, can have that in their lives.
Prevost offered an encouraging message. While part of the answer is that the brothers try not to talk too much about politics, a bigger part is that their connection as brothers is stronger than their differences. They always remember that “family is forever,” even when they sometimes disagree. He said:
Well, we keep politics to a limit. At certain times, it may come up. The topic may come up, but nothing he may say is going to change my opinion, and nothing I say is going to change his opinion. So why discuss it?
Just go on with, you know, what we're doing, what's new in our lives, where we're going next, because there is that brother connection. And really, what brothers do not fight? You know, families fight, but family is forever.
“Family is forever”—it’s a simple answer, but may just be the solution to many family disagreements. The pope and his brothers remind us that few things are important enough to let them divide up our families.
