CHICAGO (WLS) — A Southwest Side priest is sharing fond memories of his time with Cardinal Robert Prevost at seminary school.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

In 1966, Father William Lego from St. Turibius became acquainted with Cardinal Robert Prevost. Over the next twenty years, they attended school together, both aspiring to become priests.

Father Lego said when his old classmate was proclaimed the next pope, he wasn’t surprised.

“I thought it would happen because we’ve been classmates for a long time, and he is very capable,” Lego said.

Father Lego, like Prevost, is originally from Chicago. He studied with him at St. Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan, later continuing at Villanova University and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

“Always very studious,” Lego shared. “He has a sense of humor at times.”

Father Lego mentioned that their journeys diverged in the early 1980s; Prevost went to Rome for his studies, whereas Lego remained in Chicago.

Although he says it’s been many years since they’ve connected, he expects Pope Leo XIV to carry forward the same qualities he displayed during seminary school.

“He respects people. So, that’s going to be a mark of it. He’ll respect you,” Lego said. “That doesn’t mean he’s always going to agree with you, as we all know, but he’ll respect you and listen.”

Father Lego also said Pope Leo is very personable and that he’s never met anyone who didn’t like him.

READ ALSO | Chicago faith leaders react to Pope Leo XIV’s impact on other religions