Is the new pope a Cubs or White Sox fan? Everybody wants to know
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In case you missed it, the cardinals (not the ones from St. Louis) made a big announcement on Thursday afternoon. White smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel, signaling a new pope had been named – Robert Prevost (officially Pope Leo XIV), who was born in Chicago and is the first American pope.
Naturally the next question on everyone’s mind was: Is the pope a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan? Local Chicago media ran with it, and there were some conflicting reports out there. At first it looked like the Cubs might be able to claim him, after ABC News reported that he was a North Siders supporter. The Cubs posted a photo of the marquee in front of Wrigley Field exclaiming: “Hey, Chicago, he’s a Cubs fan!”
Not so fast, perhaps. Pope Leo XIV was born in Dolton, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, making it far more likely, geographically at least, that he would be a White Sox fan. That thesis was supported by an interview WGN News did with the pope’s brother, who said Pope Leo "was always a Sox fan." Their mother, whose family was from the North Side, was a Cubs fan and their dad was a Cardinals fan, according to the brother, so there were a few clashing sets of fandom in the household.
Does that seal it? Maybe! Although he’s been invited by Cubs owner Tom Ricketts to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at Wrigley Field, the White Sox have made their own claim to Pope Leo's true allegiance based on that WGN interview, posting a photo of the center-field scoreboard at Rate Field countering: “Hey Chicago, he's a Sox fan!”
The White Sox went on to release a statement backing up that assertion:
"Family always knows best, and it sounds like Pope Leo XIV’s lifelong fandom falls a little closer to 35th and Shields. Some things are bigger than baseball, and in this case, we’re glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican. A pinstripes White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat already are on the way to Rome, and of course, the Pontiff always is welcome at his ballpark."
Only the man himself can really answer this question, though, and ultimately we simply have to hope the pontiff will pontificate on this very serious question at some point in the future.