On this day, 198 years ago, the first Catholic priest set foot in the islands. As the Diocese of Honolulu begins to celebrate its bicentennial, it is extending an invitation for Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, to visit the islands to help mark the event.
As we consider the anniversary, we thought we would take you to New Orleans, a community whose diverse population of West Africans, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, and French was united by one thing: the Catholic Church.
On a recent trip to NOLA, we connected with genealogist Jari Honora. He is the family historian with the Historic New Orleans Collection who discovered that Pope Leo’s mother’s family hails from the Big Easy and that his roots run deep at the city’s St. Louis Cathedral.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 7, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
