A cathedral archivist has confirmed the Spanish origins of the pontiff’s family on his mother’s side.
The canon archivist of Vigo Cathedral in Spain, Father Avelino Bouzón Gallego, has confirmed the Spanish origins of Pope Leo XIV’s maternal family by researching the archives of a parish in Galicia in Spain’s far northwest.
After reading on Dec. 14, 2025, in a biography of the pontiff by Rafael Lazcano that Leo XIV has ancestors in towns in Pontevedra province, Bouzón could barely sleep.
“At 3 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 15, I woke up, got out of bed in my pajamas, and after putting on a sweater and a robe, I sat down at my desk, prayed lauds [the canonical hour or part of the Divine Office for the morning], and immediately began writing down the Prevost family tree, following the maternal line with the information provided in the biography,” the priest related in the parish bulletin of St. Bartholomew de Renbordanes Church.
That same morning, at the cathedral archives, he discussed his concerns and suggested to one of his collaborators, Luis Arias, that they begin the research in the La Louriña region, where there are two parishes.
The archives of Santa María de Porriño Parish date back to 1700, so they decided to start with those of San Salvador Parish, which cover one century more.
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, he received what he describes as “earth-shattering news.” They had located the baptismal record of one of Pope Leo XIV’s ancestors mentioned in the biography, Benito de Bastos Lorenzo, who was baptized in that parish in 1639.
The information is recorded in the “Book I of Baptisms [page, line etc.],” Bouzón cited with academic exactitude in the parish bulletin. Based on this information, the archivist concluded that Benito de Bastos Lorenzo is “the fifth great-great-great-grandfather on the maternal side of Robert Prevost [Leo XIV].”
Specifically, Benito de Bastos Lorenzo is part of the ninth generation before that of Pope Leo XIV.
The journey to the Americas of this direct relative of the pope is also detailed, as he married in Havana in 1677 at the age of 32, when Cuba was part of Spain and an “emerging sugar elite” was flourishing there.
“Later, many Galicians and other Iberians who had arrived on the island subsequently moved to Mexico and the United States of America,” Bouzón explained.
This significant genealogical discovery is just the beginning of a larger investigation in order to compile a comprehensive genealogy of the pontiff, which has begun “in the parishes of San Salvador in Torneiros and San Miguel in Pereiras, where direct and collateral [related by blood but not in a direct line] relatives have been found.”
Now, Bouzón promised, “we will continue to follow the thread and weave the tapestry until we reach the current generations, who will be able to present themselves to the pontiff and tell him that they share his same genes.”
In anticipation of Pope Leo’s possible trip to Spain in 2026, it is suggested that his stops will include Barcelona, Madrid, and the Canary Islands.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
