Pope Leo XIV watched Conclave ahead of papal summit and plays Wordle and Words With Friends, brother reveals

Pope Leo XIV’s brother has lifted the lid on what the new pontiff gets up to in his downtime — and it often involves playing games like Words With Friends or Wordle with his pals.On Thursday, white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney — signaling that the College of Cardinals had chosen a successor to Pope Francis.After Pope Leo XIV — born Robert Francis Prevost — greeted crowds at St.Peter’s Square in the Vatican, his brother John Prevost offered a glimpse into the new Catholic leader’s simple pleasures.“I haven’t had a moment to think about it.

But it’s totally unreal, totally surreal, and it’s a tremendous, tremendous thing to take in, but it’s something to be very proud of,” Prevost told NBC Chicago.He revealed that he had spoken to the new pontiff right before the conclave, and said the pair often play Wordle and Words with Friends together.“It’s something to keep his mind off of life in the real world,” he said.“And then we talk about what’s going on.”Prevost said that he had asked if his brother had watched the Hollywood blockbuster “Conclave” before the start of the papal summit to “know how to behave.”“I said, ‘Well, are you ready for this?'” Prevost said, revealing that his brother had “just finished” watching the film.“So it’s that kind of stuff, because I wanted to take his mind off of it, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility,” he added.The Ralph Fiennes-led movie was released just months before Pope Francis died in April at age 88.About 80% of cardinals who had participated in this year’s vote were appointed by Pope Francis, meaning a majority had never experienced a conclave before.The 2024 film – directed by Edward Berger and based on a 2016 Robert Harris novel – was thoroughly researched, and some cardinals who previously experienced a conclave described the movie as an extremely accurate portrayal of the real ritual.The Cardinals were for...