On this 81st anniversary of D-Day, the Pentagon has shared a powerful connection between the Vatican and the U.S. military. Pope Leo XIV’s father, Louis Marius Prevost, served as a Navy officer during the historic 1944 Normandy landings.

Prevost, born in Chicago in 1920, was commissioned into the Navy in November 1943. 

He served as the executive officer of a tank landing ship during Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France June 6, 1944. 

Pope Leo XIV signs a baseball during his weekly general audience at St. Peter’s Square June 4, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. (Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Prevost married Mildred Agnes Martinez in 1949, and they had three sons, including Robert Francis Prevost, who was elected Pope Leo XIV May 8, 2025, becoming the first American-born Pope.

Earlier this week, Pope Leo XIV signed a baseball at the Vatican, a nod to his Chicago roots and lifelong support for the White Sox. The team has honored him with a commemorative installation at Guaranteed Rate Field.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower talking with American paratroopers on the evening of June 5, 1944, as they prepared for the Invasion of Normandy. (Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Vatican for comment but has not yet received a response.