Pope Leo XIV signed a ball for a baseball fan but demanded to know: ‘White Sox or Cubs?’

Last week Cardinal Robert Prevost was named the first ever American pope and with Leo XIV’s appointment as head of the Catholic Church a wave of pride emerged across the nation, particularly from his fellow Chicagoans.

Brought up in Dolton, Illinois, Robert Francis Prevost has spent more of his life in South America than in his native Chicago. He joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985, and spent most the next decade carrying out his missionary work in Chulucanas, returning home to the Windy City in the late 90s.

As news about the new pontiff began to emerge, many Chicago natives wondered which MLB team Leo XIV supported with the mystery quickly dispelled as his brother John Prevost confirmed that the Pope is a fan of the Chicago White Sox and that he has always remained loyal to the South Side of the city.

John said he didn’t know where the rumours of his brother being a Cubs fans came from. “He was never, ever a Cubs fan. So I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,” he said.

Pope Leo asks fan ‘Sox or Cubs?

Colorado native Jason Perash was lucky enough to come face to face with the new Pope earlier today in a receiving line at the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall Monday morning service.

As he offered Leo a baseball to sign, the Pope asked Perash if he was a ‘Sox or Cubs fan’. The 46-year-old answered ‘correctly’ stating ’Sox’ as he saw his Official Major League Baseball Rawlings ball signed.

Perash is actually an O’s fan and an avid autograph collector.

“An American guy…who likes baseball and is a Pope—I never thought I’d see the day,” he said.

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