When PBS host Henry Louis Gates Jr. recently met Pope Leo XIV for a special genealogy segment, it sparked national attention around the Pope’s personal story and roots. For the Mendel community, that story feels especially close to home. Pope Leo’s family has deep ties to Mendel Catholic High School: his mother worked as a librarian at the school, his brothers were Mendel graduates, and he himself spent time teaching there early in his vocation. Moments like this remind us that Mendel’s legacy continues to echo far beyond Chicago, shaping lives that reach all the way to the Vatican.

Read the article here