The new head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, attended high school in Southwest Michigan.
Robert Francis Prevost was raised in the Chicago area. He then enrolled in St. Augustine Seminary Preparatory School, a minor seminary or religious high school, in Allegan County.
The school was then part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. It became part of the Diocese of Kalamazoo when that diocese was created in 1971.
Bishop Edward Lohse says he had the chance to meet Prevost in Rome in 2023.
“And when I introduced myself, I said, ‘Hi, I’m Bishop Lohse from Kalamazoo, Michigan.’ And his immediate response was, ‘I know Kalamazoo, I was in the high school there when the Diocese was established’.”
He said having a pope with local ties does create a special connection.
“There’s a sense, you know, we all have as Catholics, and it will certainly develop as time goes on, that, you know, we know the pope,” he said. “But to say, 'well, the pope knows us,' that’s kind of exciting.”
St. Augustine Seminary Preparatory School in Allegan County closed a few years after Prevost attended it. The property is now known as the Felt Estate, after its founder, and hosts tours and events. A folktale about the property was the subject of a "Why's That?" story in October 2024.
Pope Leo XIV is the first pope from the United States. A mass honoring him will take place May 19 at St. Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo.
