New Lenox church celebrates Pope Leo's birthday; pontiff's brother gives him advice for new decade

NEW LENOX, Ill. (WLS) -- Parishioners at St. Jude Catholic Church are helping Pope Leo XIV ring in a new decade.

He celebrates his birthday on Sunday, and those who know him best are giving some guidance for going into the new year.

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A group of parishioners in New Lenox showed up to sing Pope Leo a happy birthday. His brother, John Prevost, told ABC7 that for the pope's 70th birthday, all he wants for his little brother is to succeed in more ways than one.

"I said, 'When you go downstairs, hold on to the railing. We don't want to be falling at the age of 70,'" Prevost said.

Prevost says even after his brother became the pope, he still gets a call every single night.

"It's conversation to get his mind off the heavy burden of running the church. So, it's stuff like last night, it was, 'Who did you meet famous today during your audiences?' Or, 'What did you eat today?'" Prevost said.

He says they even play Words With Friends just to give him a break from the heavy responsibility of being pope, which recently includes speaking out against gun violence.

"All he can do is put forward a Catholic Christian point of view that this is what should be going on. This is what should happen. We're not a nation of people killing people. There's no place for hatred," Prevost said.

Both the loving brother and Pastor Ray Flores of St. Jude Catholic Church were there in Rome when then-Rob Prevost became Pope Leo.

"He's able to crystallize very complex theological concepts into ways that people can take and live in their ordinary life," Flores said.

Prevost said, "They just ordered out pizza because he can't leave."

When asked if one that means one of his brother's first meals as pope was pizza, Prevost said, "Yeah, up until that time, here's something I probably shouldn't say -- He has to do his own cooking for a while."

Prevost said it was indeed thin-crust pizza and not deep-dish pizza. But it serves as reminder that even on the world's stage, the pope is still the down-to-earth little brother he has always known.

"When he came out on the balcony, it was, 'Oh my gosh,'" Prevost said. "And then, when you listen to him talk, I thought, 'This is him.'"

"This is proof to the world that the spirit is moving," Prevost added.

Pope Leo's birthday is on Sunday