NEW LENOX, Ill. (WGN) Long before he was Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost and his two brothers were just “kids on a block of kids” growing up in south suburban Dolton, his brother said.

But neighbors predicted there were big things in store for Robert, the youngest of the three Prevost boys.

“The interesting thing is way back when he was in kindergarten or first grade, there was a parent, a mom, across the street one across the street that way and another down the street,” the new Pope’s brother, John Prevost, told affiliate WGN on Thursday. “Both of them said he would be the first American Pope, at that age.”

That prediction, made decades before Prevost attended the Augustine Seminary in Holland, Mich., studied at Villanova University and became provincial with the Augustinians, came true Thursday with Prevost’s election as the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

Prevost’s name was included on a list of those deemed “papabile” almost immediately after the April 21 death of Pope Francis, who elevated Prevost to Cardinal in 2023.

When the Prevost brothers spoke on Tuesday, John said the topic of a papal name came up while the pair played the online games Words With Friends and Wordle.

“He mentioned Leo. I said, ‘Well, don’t be Leo, because you wouldn’t you be Leo the 13th, and that would be unlucky.’ So he did his research, and it was Leo the 14th, and that’s what it came,” Robert Prevost said.

He added that as Pope, his brother will be guided by his many years in the missionary in Peru.

“He got to see the other side of the world, the poor and impoverished,” John Prevost said. “I think as Christians, isn’t that what we’re supposed to do is look out for that group of people that are forgotten?”

While he said he’s “tremendously proud” of his younger brother, John said Robert didn’t hope for the honor of being elevated to pope.

“Did he want this? Not at all. The responsibility, it’s heavy. It’s heavy on your shoulders,” he said. “I think being the first one from North America, being the first American, people are going to be watching … I don’t think he wants that horrible responsibility. It’s a great honor, but look what he has to uphold.”