Biography

Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano was born on 24 June 1876 at Via Ottaviano in Milazzo, a large town in Messina province on the northern coast of Sicily, in what was then the Kingdom of Italy. He was the youngest child of Santi Riggitano (1824-1898), a judicial officer or government functionary (usciere) and Maria Alioto (1834-after 1908).

In the United States, he first used the name Jean Santi Prevost or Jean Lanti Prevost, and then finally John R. Prevost.

He took the surname "Prevost" as it was the birth surname of Jeanne Eugenie Prevost, the mother of his second wife, Suzanne Fontaine. They were the grandparents of Pope Leo XIV (born as Robert Francis Prevost).

See here for a Geni discussion thread about his origins, name, and parentage.

First marriage

Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano married Daisy Hughes (1875-1939) on 14 April 1914 at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Chicago. They were in the same household in the 1920 census with no children listed.

Second marriage

No record has been found for John Prevost’s marriage to Suzanne Louise Marie Fabre (1894-1979). Their children were:

1. John Centi Prevost, Jr., born 22 July 1917 in Lackawanna, New York
2. Louis Lanti Marius Prevost, born 28 July 1920 in Chicago, Illinois

Timeline

• Salvatore Riggitano, as he was then known, arrived in the United States at New York in May 1903 on the SS Perugia.
• In September 1918, Salvatore Riggitano and wife Daisy were living at 1716-18 Greenleaf Avenue in Chicago. He was working as a "teacher of language" at the Gordon-Detwiler Institute of Language at 116 South Michigan in the city, and was listed as a non-declared alien on his World War I draft registration.
• In 1922, he was running his own Riggitano Language School in Chicago, where he taught Italian, French, and Spanish. It was located at 1530 Kimball Hall, a 16-storey skyscraper built in 1917 that catered to the music and arts community; it is now part of DePaul University's campus.
• Per Giovanni Ermenegildo Schiavo's 1928 book The Italians in Chicago: A Study in Americanization: "At present there ae in Chicago several schools of languages in the loop which are directed by Italians. ... Professor Riggitano's studio in the Kimball Building is also well known."
• In 1929, "Signor S. G. Riggitano" was a member of the faculty of the Chicago Piano College, teaching Italian, French, and Spanish. The college's main office was in Suite 927 of the Kimball Building.
• Teacher of Romance languages at a private language school in Chicago, per the 1950 U.S. Federal Census.
• At the time of his death in May 1960, he and Suzanne were living at 320 West 107th Street, Chicago. He was described in his death notice as "devoted husband of Suzanne; loving father of John C. and Louis M.; grandfather of three."
• He was buried Wednesday, 24 May 1960, going from the mortuary at 12 East 112th Place in Chicago to interment at Holy Sepulchre. His funeral was at Holy Rosary Slovak Church at 9 AM with a Mass at 9:40 AM.

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From Chicago's The Music News, vol. 14, issue 2, p. 29 (1922):

Sources

News articles

• "Pope Leo XIV." Wikipedia, revision of 9 May 2025. < link > Accessed 9 May 2025.
• https://torinocronaca.it/news/cronaca/508753/ecco-la-prova-il-certi... "nato a Settimo Rottaro nel 1876"
• “One Man, Two Identities: How Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano lived his life as John R. Prevost” (13 May 2025) < discordgenealogy.com > Accessed 16 May 2025.
• Ancestry Team. “Finding the True Origins of the Pope’s Grandfather, John R. Prevost” (15 May 2025) < ancestry-blog > Accessed 16 May 2025.
• “Pope Leo’s European Grandparents: The Mystery Solved.” (15 May 2025) < en.geneanet.org/genealogyblog > Accessed 16 May 2025.
• “Family of Pope Leo XIV” Wikipedia, revision of 16 May 2025; < link > Accessed 17 May 2025. [Pope Leo XIV
  • Pope Leo XIV]’s paternal grandparents were Jean Lanti Prevost (born Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano; 1876–1960), an Italian man from Milazzo, Sicily; and Suzanne Fontaine, a Frenchwoman from Le Havre. **Riggitano was born on June 24, 1876, and later immigrated to the United States during the Italian diaspora and settled in Illinois, where he worked as a teacher of music and language. Suzanne Fontaine was born in 1894 to Ernest and Eugénie (née Prevost) Fontaine. Ernest was born on September 17, 1857, in Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives. Riggitano and Fontaine began a relationship by 1917, while Riggitano was still married to another woman, although he was separated.
  • Fontaine gave birth to their first son, John Centi—the uncle of Leo XIV—on July 23, 1917. Leo XIV's father, Louis, followed in 1920. The two stayed together until Riggitano's death in 1960 and jointly adopted the surname "Prevost", which had been Fontaine's mother's maiden name. Riggitano also changed his name to "Jean Lanti Prevost".
  • Fontaine died in a Detroit hospital on October 10, 1979, at the age of 83.
• Bosman, Julie. (16 May 2025) The New York Times. “A Century-Old Romance That Gave the Pope His Family Name.” < link > Accessed 17 May 2025. “Online genealogists found that Pope Leo’s paternal grandparents in Chicago were accused of having an “illicit affair” in the 1910s, adding another layer to the pope’s complex family history.”
• Vargas, Ramon Antonio. (17 May 2025). The Guardian. “Pope Leo’s grandfather was immigrant from Sicily, genealogists reveal.” < link > Accessed 18 May 2025. “ …. The information about Leo’s Sicilian roots surfaced in part on a form in 1940 that Prevost – living in Chicago at the time – was required to fill out because he was a foreign national and had not become a naturalized US citizen. …”
• Kirst, Sean. “A pope with direct family ties to kindness of Father Baker.” (17 May 2025). Central Current. < link >. Accessed 18 May 2025. “Pope Leo XIV’s grandmother gave birth to the Pope’s uncle in Lackawanna and lived in what was then called “The Infant Home,’ often for single mothers with nowhere else to go.” An official in the Lackawanna clerk’s office — who said he’s received at least a dozen inquiries about that record in recent days, with several coming from Europe — said that reference is almost certainly to the Infant Home founded by Baker …”
  • Nelson Henry Baker (February 16, 1842 – July 29, 1936) was an American Catholic monsignor in Lackawanna, New York, whom the Vatican has declared as venerable.
• 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.

Records

Vital Records

• Salvatore Riggitano in the Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Marriages Index, 1871-1920 < AncestrySharing >
  • Name: Salvatore Riggitano; Age: 37; Gender: Male; Birth Year: abt 1877; Marriage Type: Marriage; Marriage Date: 14 Apr 1914; Marriage Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Spouse Name: Daisy Hughes; Spouse Age: 38; Spouse Gender: Female; FHL Film Number: 103056
• Jean C Prevost in the New York State, Birth Index, 1881-1942 < AncestrySharing >
  • Name: Jean C Prevost; Birth Date: 22 Jul 1917; Birth Place: Lackawanna, New York, USA; Certificate Number: 51795
• Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
  • Name: Louis Lanti Omarius Prevost; Birth Date: 28 Jul 1920; Birth Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Gender: Male; Father: Jean Lanti Prevost; Mother: Susanne Louise Marie Fabre
• State of Illinois, Medical Certificate of Death < digital image >
  • Name: John R. Prevost; Birth: June 24, 1876, Italy; Residence: 320 West 107th Street, Chicago, Illinois; Death: 22 May 1960; Length of Residence: 45 years; Informant: Suzanne Prevost, wife.

Immigration

• Sahahre [Salvatore Riggitano] in the New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 < AncestrySharing >;
  • Gender: Male; Ethnicity/Nationality: Italian (South) (Italian); Age: 26; Birth Date: abt 1877; Arrival Date: 2 Jun 1903; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Residence Place: Milazzo; Ship Name: Perugia
• Alien Registration Form (AR-2) for John Riggitano Prevost; National Archives (24 September 1940). (document attached)
  • “According to the Alien Registration, dated 24 September 1940, John Riggitano Prevost arrived in the United States at New York in May 1905 [sic: 1903] on the SS Perugia. Surprisingly, John gave his name on his alien registration at arrival as Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano Alioto (Giovanni is the Italian equivalent of the English name John). His birthplace was listed as Milazzo, Province of Messina, Italy, and he was born on 24 June 1876 – an exact match to the date of birth listed on John R. Prevost’s death certificate.” (Ancestry blog, 15 May 2025.)
• Mrs. Daisy Riggitano formerly Daisy Hughes in Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 (23 June 1927) < AncestrySharing >
  • Name: Salvatore; Birth Date: Jul 1876; Marriage Date: 14 Apr 1914; Relation: Head; Spouse: Daisy Riggitano. His residence is unknown.

Censuses

• "United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch (link : Wed May 14 20:40:06 UTC 2025), Entry for John Ballard and Mary A Ballard, 1910.
  • Name: Giovanni Riggitano; Sex: Male; Age: 30; Birth Year (Estimated): 1880; Birthplace: Italy; Marital Status: Single; Race: White; Relationship to Head of Household: Lodger; Father's Birthplace: Italy; Mother's Birthplace: Italy; Event Type: Census Event; Date: 1910; Event Place: Fort Madison, Lee, Iowa, United States; Event Place (Original): Fort Madison Ward 3, 81, Lee, Iowa, United States
• "United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch (link : Thu Jan 16 07:15:55 UTC 2025), Entry for Salvatore Riggitano and Daisy Riggitano, 1920.
• Salvatore Riggitano in the 1920 United States Federal Census < AncestrySharing >
  • Residence: Greenleaf Ave; Wife: Daisy Riggitano
• Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
  • Home in 1950 : Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; Street Name: Ellis avenue; House Number: 5465 3rd Floor. (5465 Ellis Ave)
• USA, Federal Census, 1950: "Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States records," images, FamilySearch (link : May 10, 2025), image 4 of 18; National Archives and Records Administration. Image Group Number: 108919636

Other

• Death Notice for John R. Prevost in the Chicago Tribune - Tuesday, 24 May 1960, page 36.
  • "PREVOST–John R. Prevost of 320 W. 107th street, devoted husband of Suzanne; loving father of John C. and Louis M.; grandfather of three. Resting at mortuary, 12 E. 112th place. Funeral Wednesday, 9 a.m., to Holy Rosary Slovak church, mass 9:40 a.m. Interment Holy Sepulchre."
• United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", FamilySearch (link : Mon Apr 28 23:07:59 UTC 2025), Entry for Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano, from 1917 to 1918.
  • Name: Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano; Sex: Male; Birth Date: 24 Jun 1876; Birthplace: Italy; Citizenship Place: Italy; Race: White; Event Type: Draft Registration; Event Date: from 1917 to 1918; Event Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States; Event Place (Original): Chicago City, Illinois, United States; Affiliate Publication Number: M1509; Affiliate Publication Title: World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards
• Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (12 Sept 1918) < AncestrySharing >
  • Name: Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano; Race: White; Birth Date: 24 Jun 1876; Residence Date: 1917-1918; Street Address: 1716-18 Greenleaf Ave; Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; Draft Board: 57; Physical Build: Medium; Height: Medium; Hair Color: Dk; Eye Color: Brown; Spouse: Daisy Hughes Riggitano
• Quincy Herald Whig, Wednesday, December 28, 1949; page 4 - named as "John Riggitano of Chicago" in his sister's 1949 obituary
  • "Mrs. Victoria Mary Cento, 79, died Tuesday afternoon about 5:30 in her home, 1109 1/2 Broadway. Mrs. Cento was born in Italy in March 1870, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Santo Riggitano, and came to the United States and Quincy about fifty years ago. Her husband, Vincent Cento, died in 1929. [Left to mourn] besides her sister are two brothers: Anthony Riggitano of Rome, Italy; and John Riggitano of Chicago."
• Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. < link > Accessed 8 May 2025.
• Chicago Tribune, published 24 May 1960, p. 36.
• "Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago, Cemetery Records, 1864-1989", FamilySearch (link : Thu Apr 03 06:44:58 UTC 2025), Entry for John R Prevost, 25 May 1960.
• "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", FamilySearch (link : Sat Apr 26 04:11:16 UTC 2025), Entry for John Centi Prevost, John Prevost, and Suzanne Fabre. Accessed 10 May 2025.
• "Riggitano Language School" (advertisement). The Music News, vol. 14, issue 2, p. 29. Published 1922. < link > Accessed 17 May 2025.
• "The Chicago Piano College" (advertisement). The Music News, vol. 21, issue 2, p. 9. Published 1929. < link > Accessed 17 May 2025.
• Schiavo, Giovanni Ermenegildo. The Italians in Chicago: A Study in Americanization, p. 69. Chicago: Italian American Publishing Co., 1928.
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/265707239/john-p-prevost
• https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GT2P-JMJ