When Americans found out Thursday that the fist ever U.S. pope had been selected, they soon began asking the all-important question: what teams is he rooting for?
This question became even more top-of-mind when people realized that he hails from Chicago, Ill., the land of the superfans and home of two baseball teams forever in loving competition with one another. Excitement about Pope Leo XIV (formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost) resulted in some conflicting reports Thursday, but we think we can confirm some of the pontiff’s favorite teams.
Let’s start with baseball. Everyone wants to know – does the pope cheer for the Cubs at Wrigley Field when he’s at home, or is he rooting for the White Sox at Rate Field on the South Side of the city.
While initial reports indicated that Pope Leo XIV is a Cubs fan – someone even yelled it out during a press conference at Holy Name Cathedral and the Cubs posted about it on social media – his brother set the record straight with ABC 7. John Prevost told the outlet that is brother is a White Sox fan.
This makes sense, since Block Club Chicago reported that the pope was born at Mercy Hospital and was raised in south suburban Dolton. According to his Vatican biography, Pope Leo XIV was born to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. In addition to John, he has another brother named Louis.
“Well, would you look at that... Congratulations to Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV,” said the Sox in an X post. ABC 7 added that the team said in a statement that it is proud to have a fan at the Vatican, that it is sending over a pinstriped jersey with his name on it, as well as a hat and that the pope is always welcome at the ballpark.
Heidi Skokal of the South Side also confirmed the pope’s status as a White Sox fan. She told the Chicago Sun-Times that her father, Ed Schmit, was close friends with the pontiff back when he was known as “Father Bob” and that they were both die hard Sox fans. They even went to games together during the team’s 2005 World Series championship run.
“He’s always been there for our whole entire family and was very, very close to my dad,” Skokal said. “And my dad told him all the time, ‘Father Bob, you’re going to be the next pope.’”
As for Cubs, the Prevost family does have some love for the North Side team. John Prevost told ABC 7 that their mother was from the North Side and that side of the family root for the Cubs.
According to the Sun-Times, in the 1980s, Pope Leo XIV served as a substitute teacher and summer school teacher at St. Rita of Cascia High School at 7740 S. Western Ave., Ashburn, where he taught math and physics. The school is connected with the Augustinian order that the pope belongs to. Students at the school cheered Thursday when they heard he had been made pope. Yahoo Sports reported that he shared a post about the school’s baseball team making an appearance in the Illinois state championship in 2014.
That outlet also said that the pope hasn’t made any social media posts supporting professional Chicago sports teams. Still, the announcement of a Chicago pope has inspired many to link the new leader of the Catholic church with the city’s teams. For example this video, where Pope Leo XIV’s introduction to the public is edited to include the opening music (“Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project) used by the Chicago Bulls when they dominated basketball in the 1990s.
Chicago isn’t the only place in the U.S. beaming with pride about the new pope. After studying at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers, then Prevost studied at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, said the Vatican. He earned a degree in mathematics there in 1977.
“Villanova officially has representation in Vatican City,” said a social media post from NCAA March Madness.
Yahoo Sports noted that this isn’t the first time people have taken an interest into a pope’s favorite teams. The late Pope Francis was even known for his soccer preferences.
“Pope Francis was a supporter of San Lorenzo, one of the oldest clubs in the Argentine Football Association,” said the outlet. “Pope Francis was born in Argentina and remained a fan during his papacy. The team even visited the Vatican twice during Pope Francis’ tenure.”