Holy pop! According to a new deep dive published by The New York Times, the newly named Pope Leo XIV is related to two of pop music’s biggest names: Madonna and Justin Bieber.
In assembling a detailed family tree for the Chicago-born religious leader — who was elected the new head of the Catholic Church in May following the death of Pope Francis — the publication found that Leo is distantly linked to the two singers through a shared ancestor born about six generations back.
“Through one Canadian ancestor, Louis Boucher de Grandpre, who was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, the pope is related to numerous Canadian-derived distant cousins,” the explainer reads.
In addition to the “Baby” singer and the Queen of Pop, the same ancestor also links the Pope to Justin Trudeau, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton and Jack Kerouac, according to the publication.
Of all those famous names, Madge’s inclusion is arguably the most ironic. The icon has been criticized by the Vatican on numerous occasions, most famously after she released her 1989 “Like a Prayer” music video, which featured a make-out sesh with a sexy Jesus figure. In 2022, she hilariously tweeted at Pope Francis asking to “meet up one day to discuss some important matters,” adding, “I’ve been ex communicated 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair.”
Now that she and the Pope are family, however, Madonna — who is Italian and grew up Catholic — might have a better shot.
As for Bieber, the “Peaches” singer has long been open about being religious, telling fans in 2021 that he is a member of the Christian church Churchome. In recent weeks, Bieber has made references to his faith while sharing cryptic posts on Instagram, telling fans on June 3, “Who are you to tell someone what someone should or shouldn’t have … God decides what we deserve.”
The Pope formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was put in charge in early May after a two-day conclave. He is the first American to ever assume the position in the Catholic Church’s nearly 2,000 years of existence.
