
While Madonna was once condemned by Pope John Paul II, to the current pope, she’s family — and she’s pretty excited about it.
As previously reported, the New York Times conducted a deep dive into the family tree of Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV. It reveals that through a Canadian ancestor, the pope is a ninth cousin various times removed to multiple famous people, including Madonna and Justin Bieber.
Madonna posted on her Instagram Story a photo of herself throwing her arms up in the air as her 94-year-old dad, Silvio Ciccone, sits in a chair in front of her. It’s captioned, “Silvio! We’re related to the Pope! Strike a Pose!” She also shared a social media post referring to the New York Times report.
In addition, Madonna included what appears to be part of her Father’s Day celebration, posting a photo of a bouquet of flowers and a card addressed to “Oh Father!” — the name of her 1989 song. There’s also a pic of Silvio holding up a photo of himself with the word “VOGUE” superimposed over it. That’s captioned, “My Dad is a Supermodel!”
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