Chicago Cubs Claimed New Pope as a Fan Too Early

The Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year World Series drought in 2016, but they're going to have to wait longer to have a Cubs fan as pope. Speculation about Pope Leo XIV's sports allegiances began as soon as the Chicago native was named as the first American pontiff and the Cubs celebrated an early report that he was a fan, the AP reports. In a post on X, the team shared an image of the Wrigley Field sign with the message "Hey Chicago. He's a Cubs fan!" His brother John, however, told WGN that Leo has always supported the White Sox team. "He was never, ever a Cubs fan," he said. "So I don't know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan." He said their mother was a Cubs fan, while their father was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Family always knows best, and it sounds like Pope Leo XIV's lifelong fandom falls a little closer to 35th and Shields," the White Sox said in statement. "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." Before his allegiance was confirmed, the Chicago Tribune asked the Cubs whether they would invite Leo to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. "Not only would we welcome Pope Leo XIV to Wrigley Field, he could sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame,'" Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said.

Heidi Skokal tells the Chicago Sun-Times that her father was close friends with Leo for decades and they often went to White Sox games together. "He's always been there for our whole entire family and was very, very close to my dad," she says. "And my dad told him all the time, 'Father Bob, you're going to be the next pope." The new pope, a 1977 graduate of Villanova University near Philadelphia, shared a post in 2016 celebrating the university's NCAA men's basketball national championship win, NBC News reports. Three former Villanova players are leading the New York Knicks on a playoff run, and a photoshopped image of the pope with the trio soon appeared on social media, the AP reports. (More Pope Leo XIV stories.)