So, what’s the connection between a Grammy-winning pop artist, a past U.S. Secretary of State, and the newly chosen leader of the Catholic Church? As it turns out, The New York Times dropped a family tree shocker that’ll make your head spin: they all share a 17th-century French-Canadian ancestor. That’s right, readers: Pope Leo XIV, Justin Bieber, and Hillary Clinton are all part of the same extended family tree, and it’s got the internet buzzing with a movie-worthy twist.
So, a new study from American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami has come to light. It turns out that Pope Leo XIV (born as Robert Prevost in Chicago) has family roots that go way back to Louis Boucher de Grandpré from Trois-Rivières, which is in Quebec. This connection is amazing because it links the Pope to many famous and interesting people over the years. We’re talking about Justin Bieber, Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, Jack Kerouac, Angelina Jolie, and even Madonna!
Pope Leo XIV is a distant cousin of both Madonna and Justin Bieber. (New York Times)
He’s also distantly related to Pierre & Justin Trudeau, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton and Jack Kerouac. pic.twitter.com/VAaQArLczl
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) June 16, 2025
Of course, once this info hit social media, it set off a storm of wild theories and speculation.
Is this just one of those funny little things that can happen with family trees, or is there some deeper, juicier secret connecting all these big names in politics, showbiz, and religion?
Pope Leo’s Ancestral Tie to Red Carpets
The situation is ironic. Pope Leo XIV, the first person from America to become Pope, has a family tree that looks like it was plucked straight from a wild Hollywood movie script. It’s full of all these well-known folks and so vast that it’s like a celebrity family reunion! Some genealogy buffs might say it’s just the odds playing out since many of these celebs are descendants of the early settlers, like Boucher de Grandpré.
But it’s got many of us regular Joes scratching our heads!
You won’t believe the other twist here: the Pope is also related to the iconic Madonna, who’s had her fair share of run-ins with the Vatican. She’s been excommunicated from the Catholic Church three times and isn’t shy about critiquing past Popes. In 2022, she tweeted Pope Francis, asking to “discuss some important matters.”
Madonna once said something cheeky, too: “I don’t think there’s that much difference between me and the Pope. We both wear dresses.”
Pope Leo XIV is a distant relative of Madonna. (Via New York Times). pic.twitter.com/1YoTzbvCxt
— Pop Tingz (@ThePopTingz) June 16, 2025
This bizarre mix of the super religious and the super famous has everyone buzzing. It’s like finding out your strict teacher is somehow buddies with the class clown! It’s all over the internet, from Twitter to TikTok to the gossip rags. People can’t get enough of the idea that this family connection might have some deeper meaning.
Celebrity Kinship or Coincidence?
The whole deal with Pope Leo XIV has happened before.
Companies that trace family trees have connected big-time celebs like Tom Hanks to Abraham Lincoln and even Barack Obama to Dick Cheney. But what’s interesting here is how many different worlds they come from: religion, politics, books, music, and movies, all connected through their family history.
Now, the workers at American Ancestors say that this shows us that many people in North America with European backgrounds can find that their great-great-grandparents knew each other. It doesn’t mean the Pope will jam with Bieber or anything, or he’ll start texting Madonna back, but it makes you think that even the most different people might share more than we usually think!
