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Is New Chicago-Born Pope Leo XIV a Cubs or White Sox Fan?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matthew Davis | Last updated May 8, 2025 4:20 PM ET

Immediately after the world found now the new pope, Leo XIV, is from Chicago, sports fans around the world have one burning question about the first-ever American-born pontiff.

Many want to know if he's a fan of the Chicago Cubs or the Chicago White Sox. ABC News reported that answer via CBS Sports' Matt Eurich that Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is a Cubs fan.

To what degree Pope Leo XIV's Cubs fandom remains unknown at the moment. His predecessor, Pope Francis, was widely known as a soccer fan, and his native Argentina fittingly won the World Cup during his pontificate.

Whether or not the Cubs will get to win a World Series during Pope Leo XIV's reign is too early to tell, but the Cubs could have a big window of time to do it, as the pope is only 69 years old. This season, the Cubs have a 22-16 record in the NL Central as of Pope Leo XIV's election, ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals at 19-19.

Of course, the Cubs had a long-standing 108-year World Series win drought back in 2016. Since then, the Cubs have produced winning teams every year except for 2021 and 2022.

That includes three playoff appearances, one of which ended in the NLCS in 2017. Chicago has won two NL Central titles since the World Series win but hasn't claimed a pennant since 2020, when the team went 60-34 in the COVID-shortened year and lost in the NL Wild Card series.

The Cubs hypothetically could have Pope Leo XIV throw out a first pitch at Wrigley Field, which fans have been talking about on social media already. It's not out of the realm of possibility as the past three Holy Fathers all visited the U.S. during their respective pontificates.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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