Cubs and White Sox battle over Pope Leo XIV's fandom; Southsiders may have upper hand

Pope Leo XIV is keeping his sports rooting involvement adjacent to his vest, but the 2 teams successful his hometown look to person already made up their minds.

Robert Prevost was elected to instrumentality up the papal spot connected Thursday, the 2nd time of the papal conclave’s deliberations. He is the archetypal pope from the U.S.

The caller pope volition crook 70 this twelvemonth connected Sept. 14 and is simply a Chicago autochthonal who attended Villanova - overmuch to the pleasance of New York Knicks fans, arsenic their biggest stars are erstwhile Wildcats.

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A wide presumption of the Jumbotron anterior to a crippled betwixt the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox astatine Wrigley Field. (Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports)

So, Pope Leo XIV's assemblage rooting involvement needs nary questioning. It is besides harmless to presume helium whitethorn basal for the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks.

However, the metropolis of Chicago has 2 MLB teams: the Cubs and the White Sox. So, it remains to beryllium seen wherever his existent rooting involvement lies.

However, some teams person made the bold assertion that helium is simply a instrumentality of them.

A Chicago clergyman said the pope is simply a Cubs fan, but his ain member said otherwise, according to the video the Sox posted.

An evident photograph has besides been unearthed of the pope attending the 2005 World Series betwixt the White Sox and Houston Astros.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears connected the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica astatine the Vatican connected May 8, 2025. (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane)

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Leo XIV was archetypal brought to the Vatican by Pope Francis to service arsenic prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, which is 1 of the astir important positions successful the Catholic Church arsenic it vets bishop nominations issued globally.

Francis past elevated him to the presumption of Cardinal successful September 2023. 

Leo was reported to beryllium intimately aligned to Francis' teachings arsenic person of the Catholic Church, peculiarly erstwhile it came to his positions regarding the environment, outreach to the mediocre and migrants, and opening the Catholic Church to clasp much followers.

In 2015, Leo got his Peruvian citizenship, wherever helium remained until helium was moved to the Vatican successful 2023. 

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears connected the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica astatine the Vatican connected May 8, 2025. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

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During his last years successful Peru, Leo besides served arsenic vice president of the imperishable assembly of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference from 2018 to 2023, which apt helped him unafraid his relation arsenic prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops nether Francis.

Fox News' Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.