It's not often that the sports world becomes enamored with the papal selection process, but that changed when word broke of Pope Leo XIV's selection as the first American pope last week. As soon as the world found out the new pope was from Chicago, sports folks immediately dug in to see where he stands as a fan of sports teams in the windy city.

After waiting in line at the Vatican, Jason Perash of Colorado got the pontiff to autograph a ball. The pope is reportedly a Chicago White Sox fan.

Across Chicago, Sunday churchgoers returned to pews still stunned and elated about the election of a native of the city’s South Side to the papacy.