Tomorrow we celebrate the Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Even though Robert Prevost was a South Sider and I was a North Sider from Chicago, I am thrilled to have a Chicago boy 12 years younger than myself that I can call “Da Pope!”
Born in Chicago in 1955, Bob Prevost spent most of his childhood in the greater Chicago area, but he attended high school at the now-closed St. Augustine Seminary High School in Holland, Michigan. He was discerning the priesthood with the Order of St. Augustine. He was a member of the class of 1973.
I find it interesting that Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk before he started the Protestant Reformation. He joined the Augustinian Hermits Order in 1506, becoming a friar. He remained a member of the order for 18 years, from 1505 to 1524.
The Holland, Michigan school’s class sizes were small at the time Bob Prevost was there, so if you were a student there, it was likely you knew the future Pope. To his friends, he was simply known as “Bob” or “Rob.”
One of those friends was Fr. Becket Franks, today a Benedictine monk who currently lives and serves at St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois.
“I was there from 1968 to 1972, so he was a year behind me,” Fr. Franks said. “The school was so small, there couldn’t have been more than 65 people. Everyone knew everyone.” Those who attended the school say it was the type of close-knit place where lifelong memories were formed.
“We all knew each other. Even though we had different courses for different grades, all of our curriculums were smashed together,” Fr. Franks said. “I was in choir with Bob. I was in reader’s theater with him. We interacted all the time together.”
Fr. Franks remembers the new Pope as a highly intelligent, well-liked student, and the sort of classmate who would go out of his way to help everyone else, especially those in need.
“The most outstanding thing is how smart he is,” Fr. Franks said. “He was into everything, he knew everything, and it came easily. And he brought all of us along with him.” By the end of his sophomore year, the future Pope Leo XIV was already speaking fluent French, and would frequently help classmates with their schoolwork.
“He was known as the tutor of the school; if you had problems with your English paper, go see Prevost. If you have problems with your math homework, go see Prevost. If you didn’t understand some history project, go see Bob,” Fr. Franks said. “And Bob would help us.” A newspaper clipping from the Holland Sentinel from Oct. 7, 1972, shared that Bob was honored “for his high performance on the 1971 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.”
Franks remembers the new Pope for his down-to-earth personality, quiet wit and characteristic Midwest charm, but also as someone who could appreciate a good joke and a little levity, he said.
“He was quiet and serious, but with wry humor,” Fr. Franks said. “He does have a good sense of humor, but it’s understated and quiet — when he starts that smirk on his face, you know he’s going to laugh.”
Franks said he has kept in touch with the new Pope “on again, off again” over the years — a Christmas card here, a letter there. Occasionally they’d see each other during events, sharing a quick greeting.
As the world gets to know the 266th successor to St. Peter, Franks and others hope they see the same caring, thoughtful, smart and faith-filled follower of Christ they knew as a teenager growing up along the shores of Lake Michigan.
“He’s just a humble, forthright, down-to-earth guy,” Fr. Franks added. “He was always respectable and in position, but at the same time, always himself.”
Thanks to the Detroit Catholic newspaper for this story, Michael Stechschulte, editor-in-chief.
Please keep Pope Leo in YOUR prayers. He has many challenges ahead of him.
GOD, HELP ME TO RESPOND WITH LOVE BEFORE I REACT WITH ANGER!
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