The sports loyalties of Pope Leo XIV became a topic of conversation almost as soon as the white smoke emerged from the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
Elected on Thursday, Robert Prevost is the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV , also attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977.
Chicago's two baseball teams were front and center as sports fans reacted to the news.
It was initially reported that the new pope was a Cubs fan. The team congratulated Pope Leo XIV in a post on X that had a picture of Wrigley Field's iconic marquee with the message: HEY, CHICAGO. HE'S A CUBS FAN!
But his brother, John Prevost, set the record straight in an interview with WGN-TV. The pope is a White Sox fan.