Pope Leo XIV Joins Chorus Of 'White Sox' Chants At Vatican

CHICAGO –– Pope Leo XIV has been an unexpected yet prominent part of the 2025 White Sox season.

On Wednesday, a video emerged on social media of him joining in as people chanted "White Sox" outside the Vatican.

Getting a White Sox chant going with the pope has to be an incredible feeling pic.twitter.com/BhNG0bsiAn
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 18, 2025

That just one of several storylines around the pope's connection to the White Sox. When Robert Prevost was elected as the first American pope on May 8, it was revealed by his brother, John, in an interview with WGN, that Robert grew up a White Sox fan in Dolton, Ill., a south suburb of Chicago. From then on, there have been several pope-related events around Rate Field.

The White Sox installed a mural near section 140, featuring a picture of Prevost attending Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. Near the mural sits a framed White Sox jersey with "Pope Leo" on the nameplate and the number 14.

Rate Field also hosted a Catholic mass on Saturday, and Pope Leo provided a message on the video board. Players are often seen in the White Sox clubhouse wearing shirts with the pope's face, and variations of the shirt are frequently sold outside the stadium. Pope Leo even wore a White Sox hat at the Vatican.

The Chicago Cubs initially displayed a message on the marquee outside Wrigley Field that Pope Leo was a Cubs fan, but that was quickly dispelled. White Sox manager Will Venable is glad to have the pope on his team's side.

"Proud moment for Chicago and awesome to hear," Venable said in May. "Obviously I got a lot of texts and a lot of buzz about, but it's cool and it's awesome to see the excitement from the fans. It's awesome."

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