(LifeSiteNews) — The brother of Pope Leo XIV has said that he expects the new Pope to continue “the tradition of Pope Francis.”

John Prevost, brother of the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV, speaks with @perezreports about his brother’s unexpected journey to the Vatican and what type of pope he could be. pic.twitter.com/RkVC45oldN

— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) May 8, 2025

When asked by an ABC reporter what kind of person his brother is, John Prevost replied:  ”A regular, run of the mill person.”

“I think because he was trained in missionary work in South America for so many years, he will be looking out for the disenfranchised, he will be looking out for the poor. He will be looking out for those that don’t have a voice. So, I think he will follow … Pope Francis.”

The reporter asked John Prevost if he thought his brother’s reign would differ from Pope Francis’ papacy.

“ I don’t know that you’ll see a big difference,” he stated. “He met Pope Francis before he was Pope, when he was in Argentina, and my brother was in Peru. So that’s how the connection began.”

“I think they kind of believed in the same issues, so I don’t know that there’ll be much difference,” he continued. “He might prove me wrong, but I don’t see there’ll be much of a breaking [with] the tradition of Pope Francis.”

READ: 5 worrying things you need to know about Leo XIV

The Pope’s brother recalled an interesting and perhaps prophetic story from their childhood, when a woman who lived close to their family told his brother he would become pope one day:

 When he [Pope Leo XIV] was in first grade, a woman across the street that we used to play with the kids, and a woman down the street, said he would be the first American pope, in first grade.

John said his brother already knew he wanted to be a priest at that point in time.