Pope Leo XIV celebrates a Mass for the opening of the academic year on October 26, 2025. IMAGO / Catholicpressphoto

Pope Leo's Cubs Roast Comes Back To Haunt Him With Latest Jersey Photo Op

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Oct 28, 2025 11:49 AM ET

The Chicago Cubs seem like a much more blessed franchise than their cross-town rival White Sox right now.

Not only did the Cubs produce a much better season than the White Sox in 2025 (the Cubs went 92-70 and made it to the NLDS while the White Sox went 60-102 and were bottom-dwellers in the AL Central division), but the White Sox's 121 losses in 2024 was the most losses a MLB team has ever sustained in a single season.

Plus, the Cubs' last World Series title was in 2016, while the White Sox's was in 2005. So the Cubs have bragging rights over Chicago's South Side squad.

But if the White Sox still have one flex over the Cubs, it's that they have the head of the Catholic Church as a fan. Arguably, the most famous baseball fan in the world right now is Pope Leo XIV. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States (plus the first from North America), and was born and raised in Chicago.

Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, stuns in a White Sox cap. pic.twitter.com/AeSP4ZYEFQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 11, 2025

He's also a White Sox fan, which has been made exceedingly clear since he was elected to the papacy on May 8, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV's Cubs Roast Comes Back to Haunt Him

On October 15, a video of Pope Leo XIV as he made his rounds around the Vatican went viral. While the pope was smiling and waving to his audience, cameras caught someone close by yelling, "Go Cubs!" in his direction.

This was fresh off the Cubs' NLDS defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers. And the Pope made this extremely clear by responding to the fan and yelling, "Han perdido!" Which means, "They lost!" in Spanish. He then added, "They lost!" for good measure in English so that the fan didn't need to translate.

That's our Pope ️

(: Vatican Media)
pic.twitter.com/w3fUWXw8DL
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) October 15, 2025

This video went supremely viral and reminded Cubs fans about the Pope's allegiance.

However, Cubs fans may not be getting the last laugh. On October 27, Mar Awa III, who is the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, visited the Pope in the Vatican.

Mar Awa III (who, like Pope Leo XIV, is also from Chicago) came bearing gifts. He gave the Pope a blue Cubs jersey with "Leo" written on the back.

IMAGO / ABACAPRESS

It's currently unclear whether Mar Awa III didn't know about the Pope's baseball loyalties or whether he was intentionally trolling him with the Cubs jersey. Either way, Pope Leo XIV doesn't look too happy about having to hold this jersey.

But Cubs fans are going to love it regardless.

This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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