Pope Leo XIV flaunts White Sox hat during a Vatican appearance; netizens quip, 'They definitely need prayers'

Pope Leo XIV, native of America's Chicago and an ardent White Sox fan, was captured having his peak fan moment during his June 11 Vatican audience in St Peter's Square.

The pope showed off his White Sox baseball cap during the weekly audience, for which he had to remove his traditional zucchetto skullcap.

He donned the Chicago cap to take a picture with a newly married couple, also sporting a White Sox hat.

‘Not the Cubs’

Shortly after he was named the first American-born pope, the pontiff’s brother revealed that “His Holiness” is a White Sox fan, not a Cubs supporter.

Photos of Pope Leo at the 2005 World Series have since surfaced online, and it turned out he was on camera in a crowd shot during the ninth inning of Game 1 of the broadcast. This also marks a historical overlap with Barack Obama, the then-future US President, cheering the same team.

Here's how the netizens reacted:

Several social media users tried prompting Grok to replace the Pope's White Sox cap with that of their favourite club.

Meanwhile, other netizens had jokes about how only a godly intervention could now save the Chicago team.

“A man of faith cuz supporting the White Sox must be painful,” a user said.

A user quipped: “They definitely need prayers.”

“God is about the only thing that’ll help the White Sox,” said another user.

“He better bless the team, cause they're last and 20 games behind in the Central Division,” said a netizen.

“They need all the help they can get,” added another.

Some users also highlighted that the White Sox's improved 13-16 record since Prevost's election contrasts their earlier 10-28 slump and said, “It's a sign!”

“So that's why they’ve been so good recently,” said another user.

A user also wondered what Pope Leo's Super Bowl watch party looked like and said, “His Super Bowl watch party is gonna be lit.”

Joking about the papal hat, a user said, “Well, I guess that settles it then. The Pope does indeed wear a funny hat.”

Pope Leo gets his mural at Rate Field

The White Sox club has embraced its most famous fan, putting up a Pope Leo mural at Rate Field near the section where he sat during the 2005 World Series.

Chicago swept the Houston Astros in that Fall Classic, the club's first championship since 1917.

“He has an open invite to throw out a first pitch,” White Sox executive Brooks Boyer said, per MLB.com. “Heck, maybe we’ll let him get an at-bat.”