Don’t stop believin’: Video shows Pope Leo XIV at Game 1 of 2005 World Series between White Sox and Astros

(The Hill/WGN) — One thing Pope Leo XIV would ask of his followers in the Catholic Church, in a manner of speaking, is: “Don’t stop believing.'”

Twenty years ago, the new pope was among the thousands of fans cheering on the “Don’t Stop Believin'” White Sox — as the team’s mantra became, after the famous Journey song — during the magical run to their first World Series title since 1917.

A video of Pope Leo — then Robert Prevost — at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series between the White Sox and the Houston Astros emerged Saturday, confirming his fandom for Chicago’s South Side baseball team.

The first American pontiff in history was caught on camera as his face twisted when White Sox closer Bobby Jenks closed out a 5-3 win over the Astros. The footage ended days of speculation about which Chicago team Pope Leo has traditionally pulled for, if anybody was still pontificating (pardon the pun).

It was first reported by some that the pope was a Cubs fan after he was initially elected as the new leader of the Catholic Church. On Thursday, the Cubs shared an image of a digital board at Wrigley Field that read, “Hey Chicago! He’s a Cubs fan!”

The White Sox also shared an image of the board at Rate Field congratulating the new pope, hailing him as “the South Side’s very own.” Pope Leo is a native of Dolton, just south of the the Chicago city limit.

“He was never, ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan. Our mother was a Cubs fan,” his brother, John, told WGN-TV’s Dana Rebik on Thursday.

“I don’t know, maybe that clued in there, and our dad was a Cardinals fan, so I don’t know where that all came from.”

The Cubs-White Sox rivalry has existed for over 100 years, but they didn’t actually play each other during the regular season for many of those years, before interleague play began.

But now they play each other twice each season in the annual Crosstown Classic. The first series of 2025, which is likely to feature many papal references, is next weekend (May 16-18) at Wrigley Field.

President Trump, former President Barack Obama — a fellow world leader from Chicago — and Mayor Brandon Johnson have congratulated Pope Leo in public posts, wishing him a successful papacy.