Picture of Pope Leo XIV attending White Sox vs Astros 2005 World Series breaks the internet

The Chicago White Sox, in spite of their biblical struggles during the 2024 season, have now found a fan that might get them out of their misery. The Roman Catholic church's College of Cardinals recently selected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as its pope and leader. Prevost, who took the name regnal name Leo XIV, hails from the South Side of Chicago and is reportedly a White Sox fan.

Upon the Pope's selection, fans and pundits immediately theorized which MLB team does he pledge allegiance to. The 69-year-old pontiff was born at Mercy Hospital in the Bronzeville District of the Windy City. To put the rumors to rest, the Pope's brother John Prevost, stated that the church leader was a supporter of the Southsiders.

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The statement triggered a media storm wherein fans tried to locate evidence about the Pope's allegiance to the White Sox. Interestingly, a photo of the pontiff emerged of him attending the last-ever World Series that the team has been a part of in 2005 against the Houston Astros.

In the 2005 Fall Classic, the Southsiders swept the Astros in one of the more tightly-fought World Series battles in recent memory. The four games between the two sides concluded with a score line gap that didn't exceed more than two runs.

The victory gave the White Sox its first title since 1917, ending an 88-season drought.

Interestingly, the Pope's brother also revealed that there's split in the household when it comes to supporting MLB teams as their mother is a Cubs fans while their father is a Cardinals supporter.

Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost) became the first pontiff in history to be born in the United States after replacing the widely beloved Pope Francis upon the latter's passing on Easter Monday. Prevost also holds Peruvian citizenship as he's spent more than a decade in the country fulfilling duties for the church.

White Sox' high-profile supporters

Although there are only a few celebrities that have professed their support for the White Sox unlike clubs like the Dodgers and Yankees — they now boast two of the most influential figures of the millenia.

In addition to Pope Leo XIV, it should be recalled that former US President Barack Obama is also a huge fan of the Southsiders.

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Obama, on many occassions, has expressed his love for the Southsiders. The former POTUS even threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis while sporting a Chicago jacket.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago