Pope Leo is humble and exudes the holy spirit. He has been popular since he was elected as the 267th pope. Pope Francis’ successor was born in Chicago and moved to Peru as a part of his priest journey. He taught there while also helping build homes and bridges.
The 69-year-old pope, who’s the catholic leader of billions of people, has had humble beginnings. As a child, he was a baseball fan. He was spotted watching the World Series in the year 2005, as White Sox team was playing. After this revelation, the White Sox even honored the pope with his mural at Game 1.
The White Sox commemorated Pope Leo XIV attending the 2005 World Series with a wall graphic in the section where he sat.
(📸 via @CHSN_WhiteSox) pic.twitter.com/tut0zncqSb
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 20, 2025
They commemorated his presence in the game and how he’s been a big fan. People have been discovering normal aspects of Pope Leo’s life. This is similar to his gym trainer revealing how he used to quietly train at that gym for over two years. He’d come in casual clothes and looked humble, according to the trainer.
He said he did not have any attitude and was fit for a man his age. The Holy Father also likes to play tennis while being an amateur at the game. He even got presented with a tennis racket from the world’s best tennis player, Jannik Sinner. Maybe he’ll soon play a game with that racket.
The new Pope, Pope Leo, is a White Sox fan. He was in the crowd during the 2005 World Series in Chicago. In his honor, respectfully, we present the All-Pope Team in major league baseball history. New episode at https://t.co/13q9q6U7h2 #PopeLeoXIV #MLB #podcast pic.twitter.com/vmCXsdsWdN
— Tim Kurkjian (@Kurkjian_ESPN) May 13, 2025
Pope Leo’s support for the White Sox may still be there. Father Arthur Purcaro reveals the new pope also fancies deep-dish pizza. He says even though he’s the pope now, he’ll still be the same inside. He changed his name to become the pope as if he had a rebirth and a new identity. However, the details of his past show how normal he was.
When Pope Leo was young, Sundays for him and his family were about visiting the church. It also included watching baseball and supporting their teams. There was a balance of worship and hobbies in his life. He had always wanted to be a priest, but he also wanted to play sports and drive cars.
A part of his prep for becoming a priest included his mom turning an ironing board into his first altar, as confirmed by Pope’s older brother, Louis Prevost; he would pretend to be a pope, as per Radar Online. Later on, he went to Peru to continue his mission and got citizenship. He is the pope now, but his hobbies and life from the past make him human. It makes him more relatable to the people.
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