Pope Leo XIV played the trombone in a jazz band in the 1970s and ’80s and was known in Chicago music circles as “Bobby Prev.”
In May 2025, after cardinals in Vatican City chose Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as the leader of the Catholic Church, claims circulated (archived) that the new pope used to play the trombone in a jazz band in the 1970s and ’80s. According to claims, Leo played in Chicago music circles under the name “Bobby Prev.”
One Facebook post said:
Vatican City, May 8, 2025 — Before ascending to the papacy as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost led a surprising double life: acclaimed theologian by day, and celebrated jazz trombonist by night. Known in Chicago’s music circles as “Bobby Prev,” he headlined several jazz festivals in the ’70s and ’80s with his signature mellow tone and soulful improvisations. Though he laid down the horn to follow his priestly calling, insiders say he still keeps a trombone in his Vatican apartment.
The claim also appeared on Instagram (archived), Threads (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Snopes readers wrote in to ask if the claim was true.
However, we found no proof of Leo’s alleged “double life” as a trombone player in a jazz band. The story appeared to come from an online music forum where the author called the claim “a joke” hours after posting it.
In a 2024 interview with the Order of Saint Augustine after he became a cardinal, Leo — then Prevost — said he played tennis in his free time but made no mention of trombone. U.S. media interviewed Leo’s brothers, John and Louis Prevost, following the May 8, 2025, announcement and neither mentioned Leo’s alleged trombone skills.
Additionally, we found discrepancies around the timeline of the claims: Leo would have turned 15 years old in 1970 and according to a biography by Vatican News, a news service from the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication, he spent much of the 1970s and ’80s away from Chicago, where the claim said he played. According to online artificial intelligence image detectors, it was highly likely that the image that accompanied the online claim was a product of AI software.
Given the above, we rate the claim that Leo was once a jazz trombonist who went by “Bobby Prev” false.
We reached out to the Holy See Press Office and the Dicastery for Commincation to ask for comment on the claim. We also reached out to the Jazz Institute of Chicago, the South Side Jazz Coalition, the American Jazz Museum and Villanova University Band to ask if they had any evidence that Leo played trombone in a jazz band under the name “Bobby Prev” and await a reply.
New pope plays tennis, according to recent interview
We found no proof that Leo himself ever confirmed that he played the trombone. Leo gave an interview to the Order of Saint Augustine in 2024 in connection with becoming a cardinal. He answered a question about what he liked to do in his free time by saying:
I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player. Since leaving Peru I have had few occasions to practise so I am looking forward to getting back on the court [laughs]. Not that this new job has left me much free time for it so far. I also really enjoy reading, taking long walks, and travelling – seeing and enjoying new and diverse places. I enjoy relaxing with friends and meeting a broad range of different people. Different people can greatly enhance our lives.
Likewise, interviews with Leo’s brothers in 2025 made no mention of trombones. John Prevost said in an interview with Chicago’s WBBM-TV on May 8 that Leo’s favorite activity in high school was driving. When a WWSB-TV reporter asked (at 6:00) Louis Prevost about childhood memories with Leo, he did not mention music or the trombone.
Public accounts from Prevost’s past schools, including Villanova University and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, made no mention of Prevost’s extracurricular activities.
Pope’s Peru travels left little time for jazz career
Cross-referencing Vatican News’ biography of Leo further revealed the unlikeliness of the claim. According to popular versions of the claim, Leo played in a jazz band “in the ’70s and ’80s.” Vatican News wrote that Leo was born in 1955, so he would have turned 15 years old in 1970.
In addition to being quite young at the start of his alleged jazz fame, according to the Vatican and Leo’s brothers, Leo was not in Chicago very much during the 1970s and ’80s. John Prevost said in his interview that Leo left home “after eighth-grade graduation” to attend the Augustinian seminary in Holland, Michigan. According to Laketown Township, where the now-closed seminary was located, Leo graduated in the class of 1973.
He then went on to Villanova University in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1977.
According to Vatican News, Leo returned to Chicago until 1982, when he traveled to Rome to study canon law. Leo then went to Peru from 1985 to 1986 and again from 1987 to 1999. We found no evidence that Leo made a name for himself as a jazz musician during his five years in or near Chicago from 1977 to 1982.
Finally, the image that accompanied the claim in some posts — which showed a man who bore very little resemblance to Leo — was likely fake, according to online AI detectors Hive Moderation and Sightengine. Both rated the likelihood that the image was entirely or partially AI-generated at 99%.