Pope Leo XIV turns 70 14 September, and while the milestone will be marked quietly by loved ones in his native Chicago area, past celebrations were anything but low-key.
Augustinian Father John Lydon, retired president of Catholic University of Trujillo, Peru, recalls weeklong birthday festivities during the future pope’s missionary years in Peru.
“Everybody wanted to celebrate him,” Father Lydon said, describing how then-Father Robert Prevost made time for each community he served.
Back home, Pope Leo’s childhood birthday celebrations were far more subdued, at least according to his brother John Prevost of New Lenox, a southwest Chicago suburb.
Prevost, 71, said from what he remembered, “it was just regular, I assume, what everyone else did. You get a cake, you open a present, and then you went to bed.”
He said the cake was certain to have been angel food cake, but “it didn’t (even) have to be his birthday. That was his favorite: angel food cake. To this day, even.”
This year, John and close family friends plan to honor the pope quietly over a meal at Aurelio’s Pizza in Homewood, a spot the pope visited before his election. John said his brother turning 70 is “a big milestone” among many this past year.