Pope Leo XIV's brother reveals why he told future pontiff he was 'weird'

The Pope's brother told the he was "weird" decades before he entered the, noting he wasn't quite like the other children in their small hometown.

who was elected to lead Vatican City following a startlingly brief election last week, is the first American to take the leading position. Before taking his official designation, Robert Prevost was a Cardinal from Dolton, a suburb south of Chicago, Illinois, and enjoyed a normal American childhood. But his brother has noted "" Leo didn't quite fit the local mould, and stood out from many of the other children in his hometown.

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Speaking to , Louis Prevost said he had once told his brother, who "always wanted to play priest" that "he was weird".

The 74-year-old said his younger brother was always supported by his family in his religious pursuits, and let him play with an ironing board to mimic a religious official. He said: "Nobody else in our 'hood played priest, but Robert did. And our parents always supported his wishes in that area. Mom let him use our ironing board to put a sheet over, and crackers we had for communion."

Mr Prevost added: "My brother enjoyed this."

His enthusiasm about religion was also clear to local religious representatives, with nuns even predicting that he would later take his current seat as Pontiff. Mr Prevost said: "Even as a young kid in the second grade a nun told him, 'You will be pope some day'. They all thought my brother would grow up to be the pope!"

Now as Pope, Leo XIV, who his brother said is a "wonderful human being" is poised to heal divisions in the church, stating he can help "smooth over the conservatives".

He said: "He can smooth over the conservatives who were uncomfortable with Pope Francis and help put divisions aside. He will help make all Catholics happy and build up the church instead of tearing it down." Conservatives have been less than impressed with the new Pope so far, however, with Leo having taken some positions that differ from those of his predecessor.

He took a more hard line stance against Moscow on Monday, according to , with the Ukrainian President saying the Pope had signalled the "the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for our country and the release of prisoners", a noticable split from Pope Francis I, who took a more neutral stance during his time as head of the Catholic Church.

While the Vatican did not expand on what the two had said, Leo had signalled during his first service on Sunday that he carried "in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people".

He called for "an authentic, just and lasting peace as soon as possible", adding: "May all the prisoners be freed and may the children return to their families."