The pope and Madonna are actually related through their genealogy, and Madonna responds to the news on social media.

It’s not ‘Like a Prayer’ anymore. 

It was uncovered in a new New York Times article that offered an interactive experience by Henry Louis Gates Jr. along with American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami. The article showed the Pope Leo’s genealogy on both sides of his mother and father. The NYT also revealed in the piece that he has more recent Black ancestry. Gates’ co-writer and a New Orleans genealogist Jari C. Honora was the first to discover that the pope had a recent connection to Creoles.

Many other celebrities are tied to the pope, as the pop star and many other stars are tied to him through one of his Canadian ancestors, Louis Boucher de Grandpre. Louis was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and he connects the pope to “a whole line of ‘Canadian-derived distant cousins’ including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Jack Kerouac, and the Pierre and Justin Trudeau.”

When Madonna heard about the pope’s family connection, she seemed pretty excited. After sharing an X/Twitter screen grab of the news, she posted a black and white photo of her and her father Silvio Ciccone on her Instagram Stories on Monday, June 16. Silvio is sitting on a chair in the photo, and Madonna is standing next to him with her arms up. “Silvio, We’re related to the Pope! Strike a pose!” the photo was captioned. 

Before her papal relative, Madonna also has a history with Catholicism. She grew up Catholic, with Veronica as her confirmation name, but now she “cultivates” her “spiritual practices.” Madonna has experimented with several different religions over the years, including Kabbalah, Judaism, and Sufism, but Catholicism has stuck with her as she’s used Catholic iconography throughout her career. She’s been credited with popularizing the cross as a stage decoration in pop music.

The 66-year-old has been called blasphemous, sacrilegious, and iconoclastic throughout her career for her use and depiction of Catholic imagery. In 1989, her song Like A Prayer was criticized by the Vatican for its burning crosses and sexy depictions of Jesus. The Pope at the time, John Paul II, even called for a boycott of her Blond Ambition tour.

In 2023, Madonna also took a swing at the Catholic Church on the cover of Vanity Fair when she posed as the Virgin Mary. She also posed as other figures throughout the entire issue including the 12 apostles. She also spoke about the reaction to Like a Prayer and the call for her tour to be boycotted, saying “I was shocked to see myself being attacked by the Church, because they couldn’t understand how much my work was trying to produce something good.”

She also sent a tweet to Pope Francis in 2015, writing “I’m a good Catholic. I swear! I mean I don’t Swear! Its [sic] been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters? “I’ve been excommunicated three times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely, Madonna.” 

On May 8, American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Now 69, he’s been dubbed Pope Leo and is the first American pope to hold the position. He succeeded Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at 88. He passed away due to a cerebral stroke that caused him to go into a coma and then a fatal heart failure.

Born Sept. 14, 1955, to Louis Marius Prevost and Mildred Martínez in Chicago, Pope Leo was raised in South Suburban Dolton (outside of Chicago) with his two brothers, Louis and John. His late mother and father were a librarian who worked in parish life and a school superintendent.

His father was of French and Italian descent, while his mother was of Spanish descent. After discovering the fact that the Pope’s family has a connection to Creoles on his father’s side, Pope Leo’s brother told the NYT that they never really discussed the topic and it “was never an issue.”