Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, is definitely a White Sox fan.
Despite the claims of the Chicago Cubs, it was firmly established in the hours after Leo’s election that he rooted for the White Sox growing up, according to both his brother and photographic evidence of him at a 2005 World Series game.
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And now, one White Sox fan, Sox on 35th blogger Joe Binder, has unearthed footage of Leo clearly in the crowd for Game 1 of that World Series. The now-pope looks somewhat uneasy as White Sox closer Bobby Jenks closes out a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros.
The White Sox went on to sweep the Astros to win their first World Series in 88 years.
This is the kind of stuff you get when the College of Cardinals elects an American as pope for the first time in history.
Pope Leo XIV is a White Sox fan. We’re still getting used to saying that. (Photo by Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
(Vatican Pool via Getty Images)
Following the announcement of his election, it was initially unclear what baseball team Leo was partial to. It was natural to assume he’d like most Chicago teams, as well as his alma mater, Villanova University, but an apparently erroneous report from ABC News led many to believe he was a Cubs fan, including the Cubs themselves.
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However, his brother later told WGN News that it was always the White Sox:
“He was never, ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan. Our mother was a Cubs fan. I don’t know, maybe that clued in there, and our dad was a Cardinals fan, so I don’t know where that all came from.”
One day later, the White Sox were still celebrating.
Before their game against the Miami Marlins, Chicago displayed a graphic at Rate Field congratulating one of their own, and unfortunately, they appeared to get his placement in papal history wrong.
Leo is the 267th pope, but the White Sox claimed he was the 268th.
We can’t help but wonder if Leo will become the first pope to throw out the first pitch at an MLB game.
