(NewsNation) — The former sister-in-law of Pope Leo XIV is celebrating the American’s election to lead the Catholic Church on Thursday. 

“Rob (Pope Leo XIV) is my ex-brother-in-law. I can’t imagine a better pick for pope. He’s the most humble and a genuinely good person I’ve ever known, and he will make a wonderful pope,” Kathleen Prevost, 72, told NewsNation shortly after the new pope was announced.

Robert Prevost is the first American to helm the Catholic Church. He is from the Chicago area and spent his career ministering in Peru. He currently leads the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops.

Villanova University, where Pope Leo earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1977 and received an honorary doctorate of humanities from the university in 2014, celebrated his Holiness in a memo from the school’s president, Rev. Peter Donohue, addressed to the school’s community, which read in part:

“What a proud and extraordinary day for Villanova University and the global Church! Today, in St. Peter’s Square in front of Catholics from around the world, Cardinal Robert Prevost, now known as His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, was named the first Augustinian Pope. The selection of Pope Leo XIV by the College of Cardinals comes less than two years after he was announced as cardinal designate by the late Pope Francis, a position to which he was formally installed in September 2023, during a consistory at the Vatican on the eve of the Synod of Synodality.”

It continued, “A new Pope brings fresh perspectives, renewed priorities and spiritual guidance, all of which can deepen our mission, strengthen our values and enrich our community. Known for his humility, gentle spirit, prudence and warmth, Pope Leo XIV’s leadership offers an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our educational mission, through an Augustinian lens, as we pursue intellectual and spiritual growth.”