Pope Leo sends White Sox fans into meltdown as Chicago native dons team cap to greet Vatican visitors
He's the bishop of Rome, supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church and an apostolic successor to Saint Peter now leading the faith's 1.4 billion followers.
But the man now known to the world as Pope Leo XIV was once a kid on Chicago's South Side, where he grew up rooting for the White Sox. And for everything that has changed since the death of Pope Francis in April, the newly anointed Pope Leo is still very much Bob from Bronzeville — a diehard fan of a struggling team that's managed only three World Series titles in 121 years.
On Tuesday, Pope Leo gave the world a peak at Bob from Bronzeville by donning a White Sox hat as he greeted Vatican visitors, including a pair of newlyweds.
It's unclear if the man and woman were from Chicago or how the hat materialized, but the struggling White Sox were all too happy to post some of the images online anyway.
'.@Pontifex representing his favorite squad,' read the White Sox post.
Fans from the Midwestern metropolis remain stunned to see a White Sox fan in the Vatican.
'Even 3 months ago, you could've given me 1,000,000 to 1 odds and I never would've taken a bet that THE POPE WEARING A WHITE SOX HAT would happen,' one wrote on X.
'As a Chicago area native I could never have imagined a Chicago Pope,' another added.
One fan remained so skeptical of the Pope's White Sox allegiance they asked X's AI tool: '@grok is this real?'
Grok then confirmed the authenticity of the photos.
Despite their favored status at the Vatican, the White Sox are in the midst of another disappointing season. Not only are they 20.5 games out of first in the American League Central at 23-44 entering Wednesday, but the team's leading hitting is Miguel Vargas at just .233. Luis Robert Jr., the team's star centerfielder and most recognizable player, is batting just .184.
Pope Leo's fandom has been a rare bright spot for the South Siders, who recently unveiled a tribute to the man born Robert Francis Prevost in 1955 as the White Sox were on their way to a third-place finish.
Now, in section 140, Row 19, and Seat 2 at Rate Field on Chicago's South Side, fans can find a graphic installation recognizing where Pope Leo sat for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. Chicago would go on to win its first MLB crown since 1917 that year.
Footage from that game — Chicago's 5-3 win over the visiting NL-champion Houston Astros — shows a younger Pope Leo in the crowd during his time as a was a prior for the Order of Saint Augustine.
There had been some erroneous reporting after he was named Pope that he was actually a Cubs fan, but his brother John Prevost has since put that myth to rest.
'He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don't know where that came from,' Prevost told Chicago's WGN TV. '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 all that came from.
'And all the aunts, our mom's family was from the north side, so that's why they were Cubs fans.'
The club is in the process of being sold to Justin Ishbia, the brother of Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
The team announced the deal last week. Ishbia will make capital infusions to the team as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 in order to pay down existing club debt and support ongoing team operations.
Under the agreement, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has the option to sell controlling interest to Ishbia from 2029 to 2033, after which he can obtain a majority stake.
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