Chicago ¨C There is one question consuming Chicago baseball fans: What team does Pope Leo support?

The Windy City is notoriously split between Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs supporters, a rivalry between the South and North sides. Father Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Chicago¡¯s Holy Name Cathedral, said he was in shock when Robert Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV, was named pope on Thursday.

¡°He was not on my short, short list,¡± he said.

¡°I think he¡¯s going to be very strong on the immigrant, human rights and the care for the Earth.¡±

Sakowicz said one burning question was whether the pontiff was a fellow fan of the White Sox, as he grew up near the team¡¯s stadium on the city¡¯s South Side, or of their crosstown rivals, the Cubs.

¡°I heard he¡¯s a Cubs fan,¡± he said. ¡°Well, God Bless him.¡±

The Cubs themselves claimed Leo as one of their own, posting on their X account congratulations and a photo of the iconic Wrigley Field sign with the words: ¡°Hey, Chicago. He¡¯s a Cubs fan!¡±

¡°Not only would we welcome Pope Leo XIV to Wrigley Field, he could sing ¡¯Take Me Out to the Ballgame,¡¯¡± Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement, referring to the song that fans belt out during the middle of the seventh inning.

Ricketts also invited the pope to deliver a ¡°Sermon on the Mound¡± at the ballpark.

However, local television station WGN interviewed the pope¡¯s brother, John Prevost, on Thursday, and he cleared up the matter.

Pope Leo is a fan of the White Sox, he said.

¡°He was never, ever a Cubs fan, so I don¡¯t know where that came from,¡± Prevost said in an excerpt of the interview shared by the White Sox on X. ¡°He was always a Sox fan.¡±

The White Sox also claimed the pope as a fan.

¡°Family always knows best, and it sounds like Pope Leo XIV¡¯s lifelong fandom falls a little closer to 35th and Shields,¡± the White Sox said in a statement, referencing the location of the team¡¯s ballpark, Rate Field.

¡°Some things are bigger than baseball, and in this case, we¡¯re glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican.

¡°A pinstripes White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat already are on the way to Rome, and of course, the Pontiff always is welcome at his ballpark.¡±