Events › Pope Leo XIV and Researching his Creole Heritage (In-Person)

IN-PERSON OPTION

A GENEALOGICAL PROGRAM SPONSORED BY 
THE ST. TAMMANY PARISH LIBRARY GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT

Hybrid Meeting: Program will be offered in-person at 
the St. Tammany Parish Library’s Madisonville Branch in Madisonville, LA 
and as a virtual broadcast for those at home  

Jari C. Honora, a Certified Genealogist®, is a New Orleans native and proud Louisiana Creole with roots dating back more than two centuries along Bayou Lafourche and the German-Acadian Coast. A graduate of St. Augustine High School and Tulane University, he works as Family Historian in the Williams Research Center of the Historic New Orleans Collection. He previously worked for Le Musée de f.p.c. and taught in local charter schools. He also does historical and genealogical research professionally, including the TV programs “Finding Your Roots” “We’ll Meet Again,” and the Georgetown Memory Project.. Jari has presented at numerous historical and genealogical conferences including the International Black Genealogy Summit; American Educational Research Association; Southern Historical Society; Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS); and the Canadian Society for Eighteenth Century Studies. As one of four contributors to the CreoleGen blog he regularly shares research findings on Louisiana Creole people and institutions.

Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope and also the first with documented ancestral ties to Louisiana Creoles of color, a community with historical ties to people of African descent.  Jari confirmed the pope’s ancestry and his findings were published in a May 10 article in the New York Times. In May 2025 he was featured on "CBS Mornings" talk show discussing the Pope's Creole ancestry and  New Orleans roots. In this upcoming lecture Jari C. Honora  will share the discoveries made about Pope Leo XIV’s genealogical heritage and his ties to St. Tammany Parish.

DATE: Saturday, August 2, 2025

TIME: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Central Time

TWO LIVE VIEWING OPTIONS: IN-PERSON AND REMOTE BROADCAST

In-Person Attendance: Madisonville Branch of the St. Tammany Parish Library

ADDRESS: 1123 Main St., Madisonville

At Home Viewing: St. Tammany Parish Library (STPL) Live Broadcast via Zoom

Everybody on the Waitlist will receive the Zoom link for the program.