Chicagoans react to their homegrown pope
Caitlyn Rosen
CHICAGO (CN) — Forget about "Da Bears" — Chicago has a new mascot: "Da Pope."
Cardinal Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old who grew up in the southwest Chicago suburbs, was the first North American selected for the papacy on Thursday. He took the name Pope Leo XIV and succeeded Pope Francis, who died in April.
When a billow of white smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the excitement in Rome was palpable. Around 100,000 people gathered beneath St. Peter's Basilica to hear the first words of the 267th pope, which were, "Peace be with you all."
But the jubilant crowds weren't reserved for Rome. Chicagoans were quick to embrace their newly elected homegrown pope.
Some of the excitement for the new pontiff emerged before the conclave even began. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, the grade school that operates under Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy Catholic Church, held a mock conclave with its students on April 29.
The students were overjoyed when they heard the news of the Chicago-born pope, Liz Theyssen, the operations director for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, said. She added that she thought the students appreciated the new pope all the more after learning about the conclave process.
"I think there's just pride on so many levels," Theyssen said. "We don't know this pope personally, obviously, but once the students began understanding who he was and just the fact that he's a fellow Chicagoan, it just feels very personal and providential, I guess."
The internet was rife with jokes and memes about the new American-made pope. One X user joked that the new Eucharist would be deep-dish pizza.
The Wiener's Circle, a popular spot for Chicago-style hot dogs, put a Latin phrase on its billboard as a nod to the new pope. It read, "Canes nostros ipse comedit," which translates to "He has eaten our dogs."
Galway Bay, a Lakeview bar on Diversey Parkway, is offering a new special called the pope is from Chicago handshake, which is a glass of red wine and a shot of Malort. A traditional Chicago handshake is an Old Style beer and a shot of Malort.
Chicago's respective baseball teams — the Cubs and the White Sox — were quick to claim Leo as a fan.
"I liked the whole Cubs-Sox debate, because somebody said he was a Cubs fan, and then his family came out saying he was a Sox fan," Megan Olah, a 23-year-old who lives in Lakeview, said. The Chicago Sun-Times was quick to dig up a photo of Leo at the 2005 World Series, donning a White Sox hat.
Sarah Beth Lowe, a Delaware native who was visiting a friend when the pope was chosen, said when she first heard the news, she thought she had misread the headline.
"This was not on my 2025 bingo card, having an American pope, but I feel really hopeful," she said.
Others weren't so shocked.
Mike Prendergast, a Lakeview resident who grew up on the South Side not far from where Prevost was raised, sat at a slot machine in a Lakeview convenience store and joked that he nearly bet on an American winning the papacy.
"I had a feeling that they might have chosen an American," Prendergast said. He added that he thinks an American pope will ease tensions in the Vatican.
"I think it's good to have an American pope because the Catholic Church, you know, there's two factions, and the Catholic Church in America is always kind of in conflict with the Vatican," Prendergast said.
Others echoed Prendergast's sentiment and highlighted how Leo plans to continue in the footsteps of his predecessor by leading with peace.
Mackenna Lavin, a 23-year-old visiting from Colorado, said that although she's not particularly religious, she was excited about the new pope because she knows that he is anti-Trump, like she is.
"I think it'll help reveal true Christian values. Christians in America obviously value the pope, so I feel like when they listen to the pope going against what Trump's doing, maybe they'll kind of shift their mindset," Lavin said.
Many echoed Lavin's sentiment and noted that some of the hesitancy for an American pope could be due to the tumultuous nature of American politics.
"I never thought in my lifetime I'd see a pope from like a global superpower, and I think it's a really exciting opportunity to balance the scales with Trump, and hopefully there's maybe some kind of accountability there," Lowe said.
Chicago and Illinois politicians were also quick to celebrate the first North American pope.
“Everything dope, including the pope, comes from Chicago! Congratulations to the first American Pope Leo XIV! We hope to welcome you back home soon,” Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote on X.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the election historic. "Pope Leo XIV ushers in a new chapter that I join those in our state welcoming in at a time when we need compassion, unity, and peace," he wrote on X.