Incredible footage has emerged of Pope Leo XIV watching from the stands during the Chicago White Sox’s glorious World Series win in 2005.
The 69-year-old, whose birth name is Robert Francis Prevost, became the first American in history to lead the Catholic Church when he was elected at the Vatican.
The new pope was born in Chicago in 1955 and half a decade later he was among the crowd at the then-US Cellular Field for Game 1 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
In a clip that went viral on social media on Friday, he can be seen watching the White Sox close out a 5-3 win.
With Chicago just two strikes shy of victory, the camera switches from the mound to the stands, where Pope Leo XIV is standing wearing team colors.
White smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, confirming that a new pope had been chosen following the death of Pope Francis.
Footage has emerged of Pope Leo XIV watching the White Sox win the 2005 World Series
Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, grew up in Chicago as a fan of the White Sox
He was among the crowd for Game 1 of the World Series against the Houston Astros (above)
Before long, the Chicago Cubs had shared a picture across their social media channels, celebrating what they thought was a new famous fan.
‘Hey, Chicago. He’s a Cubs fan!’ a message on a jumbotron at the iconic Wrigley Field read on Thursday. The Cubs shared it on X with the caption: ‘Congratulations to Pope Leo XIV!’
But it soon emerged that the MLB team had made an embarrassing error.
‘Yeah he was never, ever a Cubs fan, I don’t know where that came from,’ the pope’s brother John told WGN news.
‘He was always a Sox fan. Our mother was a Cubs fan, our dad was a Cardinals fan. I don’t know where that all came from.’
