Biography

Mildred Agnes Martinez, the youngest of the seven daughters of Joseph N. Martinez and his wife Louise Baquie, was born 30 December 1911 in Chicago. She was baptized 4 February 1912 at the Holy Name Cathedral, and died on 18 June 1990 of cancer. She was buried in the Assumption Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Glenwood next to her husband. She who was also deeply involved in Catholic parish life.

Mrs. Mildred Martinez Prevost was the mother of Robert Prevost, elected the Catholic Pope on 8 May 2025, and who took the name Pope Leo XIV.

Mildred was known as "Millie". Her parents were Louisiana Creoles from the 7th ward of New Orleans who had moved to Chicago around 1911. Her father, the mixed-race Joseph Martínez (1864-1926) was born in Hispianola; Joseph’s mother, Maria Ramos, was from Cuba. Mildred’s mother was New Orleans-born mixed-race Louise Baquié (1868-1945) (also rendered Baquiex).

Millie grew up in Chicago with five sisters, two of whom became nuns, and graduated from all-girls Immaculata High School in 1929. She graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s in education in 1947, and attended the same masters of education program at DePaul University as Louis Prevost (1920-1997). They married on 25 January 1949 in Cook County.

She had waited until she was in her mid-30s before marrying the educator, who was eight years her junior. So she was in her late 30s and early 40s when she had children, three boys born in a span of just over four years.

Children

1. Louis Martin Prevost
2. John Joseph Prevost
3. Robert Francis Prevost, born 14 September 1955 at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, an Augustinian priest who became Pope Leo XIV on 8 May 2025; the first Pope born in the United States.

The Prevosts raised their family in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb bordering Chicago's far South Side. The boys attended school at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish. It was located in the Riverdale neighborhood of South Side Chicago and is now closed.

She was the librarian at Von Stuben and Mendel Catholic High Schools in the Chicago area. President of the St. Mary of the Assumption Church's Altar & Rosary Society and the Mendel Catholic High School Mothers Club. Member of the St. Mary's Choir. She loved to sing.

Obituary:

“PREVOST Mildred Prevost, nee Martinez, beloved wife of Louis M. Prevost, retired Superintendent of School District #167 & Mount Carmel School, Chicago Heights; loving mother of Louis Martin, John J. and Rev. Robert Prevost, OSA; dear grandmother of … ; fond sister of Sister Mary Sulpice, RSM. Funeral Thursday 11:00 a.m.

Source: United States, Illinois, Chicago Chicago Tribune 1990-Jun-20 Page 70

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Note: In 1950, newly married Louis Marius Prevost and Mildred Agnes Prevost were living at 212 East 141st Place, Dolton, Illinois. Their census record shows a foster son, Raymond Fuller, aged 15. He was probably this Raymond James Fuller, Sr., but confirmation and further details are sought. See discussion.

United States, Census, 1950", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X1D-DJRB : Wed Oct 04 17:21:46 UTC 2023), Entry for Louis M Prevost and Mildred Prevost, 13 April 1950.

The childhood home of Robert Prevost—the future Pope Leo XIV—in Dolton, Illinois

Source: Michael Howie < Wikimedia commons >

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Sources

News articles (most recent on top)

• Généalogies réalisées par Le Centre de Généalogie. (Last update on 20 May 2025) “Ancestry of Robert Francis PREVOST (Léon XIV) Up to the 9th generation.” < link > Accessed 20 May 2025.
• Vargas, Ramon Antonio. (17 May 2025). The Guardian. “Pope Leo’s grandfather was immigrant from Sicily, genealogists reveal.” < link > Accessed 18 May 2025. “Robert Prevost’s maternal grandparents came to US from Caribbean and at one point identified as Black.”
• Bosman, Julia. “The Mother Whose Catholic Faith Inspired the Future Pope.” Mildred Prevost, a mother of three who sought a graduate degree, held her religious devotion at the center of her life. The New York Times, published 11 May 2025. < link > Accessed 12 May 2025.
• Bosman, Julie and Mitch Smith. "He Grew Up in a Parish on Chicago's South Side. Now He's the Pope." The New York Times, published 8 May 2025. < link > Accessed 12 May 2025.
• "Pope Leo XIV." Wikipedia, revision of 8 May 2025. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• O'Keeffe, Rose. "Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost elected first American pope." The DePaulia, published 8 May 2025. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• “Pope Leo XIV’s family: What to know about his parents and their deep Chicago ties.” The Chicago Tribune via Yahoo! News, published 8 May 2025. < link > Accessed 12 May 2025. “Raised in Chicago with five sisters — including two who became nuns — she graduated from Immaculata High School for girls in June 1929, according to Tribune archives. The contralto was a soloist in a 1940 Mundelein College performance and as a competitor in the 1941 Chicagoland Music Festival. … According to DePaul, both of People Leo XIV’s parents obtained graduate degrees in the same education program.”
• “DePaul University rejoices in election of Pope Leo XIV” . DePaul University, published 8 May 2025. < link > Accessed 13 May 2025. “CHICAGO — DePaul University joins the world in rejoicing in the election of Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as the 267th Bishop of Rome. The new pope is a Chicago native and the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s history. His parents, Mildred Martínez Prevost and Louis M. Prevost, were DePaul alumni: His mother earned a BA in education in 1947 and completed substantial master's-level education courses at DePaul, and his father graduated with an MA in education in 1949.”
• Winfield, Nicole and Lauren FitzPatrick. "Cardinal Robert Prevost, born in Chicago, is the first pope from the United States." WBEZ Chicago, published 8 May 2025. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• “White smoke, Black pope? Genealogist says Leo XIV has Louisiana African roots”. (Vatican City — May 8, 2025) < ncronline.org > “… According to the U.S. Census, Prevost's mother, the late Mildred Martinez, was the mixed-race daughter of Black property owners, the Haitian-born Joseph Martinez and New Orleans native Louise Baquié, a Creole. …”>
• "Sr. Mary Sulpice Martinez R.S.M." The Chicago Tribune via Newspapers.com, published 2 March 1999, sec. 2, p. 7. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• "Prevost." The Chicago Tribune via Newspapers.com, published 10 November 1997, sec. 2, p. 6. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• "Prevost." The Chicago Tribune via Newspapers.com, published 19 June 1990, sec. 2, p. 8. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• "Sister M. Amarita Martinez." The Telegraph-Herald via OldNews.com, published 25 April 1945, p. 10. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• “200 Girls at Immaculata Get Diplomas.” Chicago Tribune via Newspapers.com, published June 16, 1929, Page 121. < link > accessed May 13, 2025. “…(right hand column) Maybelle M. Maloney … Mildred A. Martinez … “

Records

• "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q239-VM1X : Tue Jan 14 16:41:29 UTC 2025), Entry for Mildred Agnes Martinez and Joseph N Martinez, 8 Nov 1949. Name Mildred Agnes Martinez. Sex Female. Birth Date 30 Dec 1911. Birthplace Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States. Race White. Father's Name Joseph N Martinez. Father's Sex Male. Father's Birthplace Santo Domingo D R. Mother's Name Louise Baquiet. Mother's Sex Female. Mother's Birthplace New Orleans, Louisiana. Event Type Birth Registration. Event Date 8 Nov 1949. Event Place Cook, Illinois, United States Event Place (Original) , Cook, Illinois Certificate Number 3414
• "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q239-RNRV : Sat Jul 13 06:09:49 UTC 2024), Entry for Mildred Agnes Martinez and Joseph N Martinez, 10 Feb 1976. Name Mildred Agnes Martinez Sex Female Birth Date 30 Dec 1912 [sic: 30 Dec 1911] Birthplace Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States Race White Father's Name Joseph N Martinez Father's Sex Male Father's Birthplace Dominican Republic Mother's Name Louise Baquiex Mother's Sex Female Mother's Birthplace New Orleans, Louisiana Event Type Birth Registration Event Date 10 Feb 1976 Event Place Cook, Illinois, United States Event Place (Original) , Cook, Illinois Certificate Number 88565
• "Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925" citing Digital film/folder number: 004284435_002_M9SQ-4D6; FHL microfilm: 001578586; Image number: 138 FamilySearch Record: QVMN-YT9Z (accessed 8 May 2025) FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DKR9-9WM Agnes Mildred Martinez baptism on 4 Feb 1912, child of Joseph N Martinez & Louise Baquiex, in Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States.
• "Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVMN-YT9Z : Wed Mar 06 06:22:26 UTC 2024), Entry for Agnes Mildred Martinez and Joseph N Martinez, 04 Feb 1912.
• "United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJQC-24G : Fri May 09 21:56:26 UTC 2025), Entry for Joseph Martinez and Louise Martinez, 1920.
• "United States, Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS59-RFB : Sun Mar 10 06:40:14 UTC 2024), Entry for Louise Martiney and Lillian Plum, 1930.
• "United States, Census, 1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4M6-G2J : Sat Jan 18 01:08:37 UTC 2025), Entry for Louise Martinez and Mildred Martinez, 1940. Mildred Martinez, female, age 28, single, white, daughter of head of household, Louise Martinez, age 70, widow, white. Born Illinois. Occupation: librarian, public library.
• Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• "United States, Census, 1950", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X1D-DJRB : Wed Oct 04 17:21:46 UTC 2023), Entry for Louis M Prevost and Mildred Prevost, 13 April 1950.
  • Name Louis M Prevost Sex Male Age 29 years Birth Year (Estimated) 1921 Birthplace Illinois Residence Place Dolton, Cook, Illinois, United States House Number 212 Marital Status Married Industry Public School Race White Relationship to Head of Household Head Father's Birthplace France Mother's Birthplace France Event Date 13 April 1950 Event Place Dolton, Cook, Illinois, United States Event Place (Original) Dolton, Cook, Illinois Enumeration District 16-739A Line Number 17 Page Number 24.
  • Name Mildred Prevost Sex Female Age 37 years Birth Year (Estimated) 1913 Birthplace Illinois Marital Status Married Race White Relationship to Head of Household Wife Event Date 13 April 1950 Event Place Dolton, Cook, Illinois, United States Event Place (Original) Dolton, Cook, Illinois Enumeration District 16-739A Line Number 18 Page Number 24
  • Name Raymond Fuller Sex Male Age 15 years Birth Year (Estimated) 1935 Birthplace Illinois Marital Status Single Race White Relationship to Head of Household foster son Event Date 13 April 1950 Event Place Dolton, Cook, Illinois, United States Event Place (Original) Dolton, Cook, Illinois Enumeration District 16-739A Line Number 19 Page Number 24
• Mildred M Prevost in the Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 < AncestrySharing > Name Mildred M Prevost Death Date 18 Jun 1990 Death Place Cook, Illinois, USA File Number 37671
• “Mildred Martinez Prevost” in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 < AncestrySharing > Death Date 18 Jun 1990 Father Joseph D Martinez Mother Louise Baquiet
• "Mildred Agnes Martinez Prevost." FindAGrave, published 23 May 2019. < link > Accessed 12 May 2025.
• https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/GWLH-T3H