Pope Leo XIV ignored one piece of advice as he hinted he could be selected in phone call just before conclave

Robert Prevost was selected to be the next pope on May 8, marking the first time an American has been selected for the role as leader of the Catholic church... but it seems that while this has come as a surprise to some, the man himself may have been confident.

Robert, who selected the name Pope Leo XIV, spoke on a call with his brother ahead of the conclave where the pair discussed the possibility of him being elected.

Pope Leo’s eldest brother John reflected on how he felt when it was announced who the next pope would be as he spoke about the 'shocking' moment in a new interview.

John, a retired Catholic school principal who lives in south suburban New Lenox, Illinois, said he has barely had any time to even process what has happened and said he found out the news at the same time everyone else did.

He noted that he was on the phone and watching things unfold on the television when his phone and iPad began to pop up with a slew of messages, for obvious reasons.

Pope Leo spoke about becoming the Catholic leader only hours before being elected (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Speaking to the Daily Herald, he said: “It was a shocking moment. I was on the phone with my niece and we both couldn’t believe it. Then the phone, the iPad and my cellphone just went nuts.

“And Rob — that’s we called him since he was little — knew he was going to be a priest from the time he could walk.

“A neighbor once said he was going to be pope someday. How’s that for a prognostication?”

Amazingly, Pope Leo even hinted he could be selected the day before the conclave kicked off and the pair even spoke about names he could adopt.

Pope Leo would go on to ignore a bit of advice from his brother about his name selection, however.

Reflecting on their conversation, John said: “He said, ‘What should my name be?’

John Prevost advised against his brother taking the name Leo if he became pope (John Prevost)

“We started rattling off names just to rattle off names. I told him it shouldn’t be Leo because it will be the 13th. But he must’ve done some research to see it’s actually the 14th.”

John added that he hadn’t yet tried to contact his brother, knowing he is going to be very busy for the next few days.

He also explained it was a very emotional turn of events and said he is still in shock and hasn’t had an opportunity for release.

He added: “I haven’t had time to cry yet. I think when I’m alone and can gather my thoughts about all this it will hit me. So far, there’s been no time to react.”

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