Are Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox fans fighting about something again? …Is the pope Catholic?
He sure is. But whether or not the newly elected Pope Leo XIV is a fan of Chicago’s northside or southside MLB team has the city — and its feisty sports fans — in quite the uproar.
In perhaps the biggest debate since Ms. O’Leary’s Cow, Chicagoans have been picking sides since it was announced Thursday afternoon that Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, would be named the new leader of the Catholic Church — the first U.S.-born pontiff in history.
During ABC’s live broadcast from outside the papal conclave, broadcasters offhandedly reported that Prevost — who later took the name Pope Leo XIV — was a “Cubs fan,” while listing off facts about the Dolton, Ill., native.
Smiling and waving to the estimated 45,000 visitors below, Pope Leo XIV likely had no idea that he was about the become the hottest topic on Chicago sports radio for the next 24 hours.
Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty
Pope Leo XIV
The Cubs marketing team swooped into action. Within hours, Wrigley Field changed its historic, giant red marquee to read: “Hey, Chicago. He’s a Cubs fan!”
The news – and memes – immediately spread throughout the city’s 77 neighborhoods. Does the Pope know how to do the “Super Bowl Shuffle”? Will there be a Portillo’s opening at the Vatican? And would this mean Pope Leo XIV will throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field sometime soon?
“Not only would we welcome Pope Leo XIV to Wrigley Field, he could sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’ ” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts told The Chicago Tribune, just hours after Pope Leo XIV said his first “Hail Mary” as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. “Or, since three of his predecessors visited Yankee Stadium, including Pope Paul VI, who delivered the 1965 ‘Sermon on the Mound,’ we would invite the Pontiff to do the same at the Friendly Confines.”
But “ope”! There’s one little problem.
“He was never, ever a Cubs fan,” the pope’s brother, John Prevost, told WGN from the recliner in the front room of his New Lenox, Ill., home. “So I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan.”
Straight from the pope’s brother’s mouth.
The Chicago Sun-Times found a photo of Pope Leo, Robert Prevost, at the 2005 World Series against the Astros pic.twitter.com/oNcqpRC5Ry
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) May 9, 2025
And if you still don’t believe it? The Chicago Sun-Times dug up a photo of Pope Leo XIV in the stands during the 2005 World Series at U.S. Cellular Field, wearing a white pinstripe Sox jersey and chatting on the phone.
“Might wanna delete this one,” one fan wrote on the Cubs’ Instagram page, responding to the team’s proudly displayed marquee overlooking the corner of Clark and Addison streets.
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Nine miles south in Bridgeport, the White Sox — 12 games behind the Cubs in the standings — relished in getting one over on their crosstown rivals.
“Well, would you look at that…” the Sox wrote on social media, alongside their own scoreboard message that appears to be the final word. “Hey Chicago, he’s a Sox fan!”
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