Unveiling Chicago's Connection: A Laugh-Filled Legacy Traced Back to Pope Leo XIV

A Chicago-bred holy man strolls into a congregation. The punchline writes itself.

In the electrifying days since Pope Leo XIV assumed the crown as the inaugural American Pope, the barrage of memes, doctored images, and cheeky quips have engulfed the web, more widespread than Chicago's famous deep-dish pizzas and hot dogs, striking a chord with comedians and the masses alike.

Stained-glass windows depicting Michael Jordan dunking? A revision of church law prohibiting ketchup-slathered wieners? Guest appearances on "The Bear"? All of it seems as appetizing as forbidden fruit.

"You've just binged on a billion jokes," says Chad Nackers, a Catholic-raised native now serving as editor-in-chief of The Onion, the satirical site that commemorated Robert Prevost's exaltation with a grinning pontiff nestled within a poppy-seed-specked bun.

"Conclave Selects First Chicago-Style Pope," read the headline.

The pomp and circumstance of the Church, combined with a man who acts as a voice for God, offer a rich comedic canvas, Nackers states. Add an American Pope, especially one hailing from the unique city of Chicago, and the humor finds fertile ground.

"It's just ripe for laughter," Nackers declares.

"DA POPE!" blared the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, one of many spins on the city's distinctive accent, forever reverberating in "Saturday Night Live" skits. Regardless of how Pope Leo XIV appears in reality, in this world of humor, he dons a mustache, swaps Ts for Ds, and trades his traditional headgear for a Bears cap.

With Chicago in the limelight, familiar city tropes were thrust into the spotlight. The pope mobile exchanged for the iconic Dodge Monaco that starred in "The Blues Brothers"? Check. Twists on city-set shows and films like "Chicago Hope," rebranded as "Chicago Pope"? You bet. Dreams of Portillo's Italian beef sandwiches and the fiery Maloort liqueur taking the place of communion wafers? Indeed. Again and again.

In a sports-mad city, local teams were swept up in the tide of papal humor. Initial speculation that the Pope's baseball loyalties lay with the Cubs prompted Caitlin Hendricks, a content creator, to muse about the irony of Leo preferring the archrival Cardinals. As it turns out, though, Leo may well back the White Sox.

It didn't deter die-hard Cubs fans from embracing the pope memes and feeling hometown pride. At the Sports World shop, one woman sought a Cubs jersey embellished with Pope Leo XIV's name. Down the street at Wrigleyville Sports, Chad Grant mused that while he wouldn't mind Leo rooting for the Sox, "I just feel bad, because he's been accustomed to defeat for a while."

Late-night hosts couldn't resist the allure either.

Jimmy Fallon reminisced about "deep-dish communion wafers" from a pope christened "Bobby Bratwurst." Stephen Colbert, a devout Catholic and boasting studio walls adorned with as much stained glass as St. Patrick's Cathedral, offered boisterous "Pope-S-A" chants and mentions of "the prayers" in thick Chicago dialect.

"I'm actually surprised by how excited I am," Jimmy Kimmel mused in his first monologue after the announcement. "An American, born here, who's watched all the shows we've watched, rooted for the teams we've rooted for, now reigns over the Vatican...This must've been what it felt like when they opened the first Olive Garden."

More humor is on the horizon, a wave of Ferris Bueller jokes and speculation on canonizing Mike Ditka. There will be Oprah exuberantly announcing, "You get a new Pope! And you get a new Pope!" and a surfeit of memes featuring the Pope bobbing on the dye-green Chicago River or atop the gleaming "Cloud Gate" bean.

"There's just a great deal of joy in the city right now," says Ashley Lenz, a theologian in Chicago working for the Catholic prayer app Hallow. "There's a certain thrill of seeing something sacred intermingle with the mundane. The idea of a Pope who's stood in line at Portillo's or cheered on the Sox makes it all feel more approachable. It makes the papacy seem human again."

/ Trivia: Interestingly, Chicago also boasts being home to the tallest building in the world, the Willis Tower, and the first skyscraper ever built, the Home Insurance Building. It is also synonymous with Al Capone, the infamous gangster known for his role in organized crime during the Prohibition era, earning the city the nickname "Chi-Raq." / From the wires

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Following the election of Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago, social media users have flooded the internet with unique jokes and memes linking to the city's culture and traditions. Here are some examples:

Deep Dish Pizza: Jokes about Rome finally having good pizza have been common, with one user saying, "Finally Rome will have good pizza." Another quipped, "Deep Dish beat Pizzaballa," referencing Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a contender for the papacy[2][3].
Trivia: Chicago's deep-dish pizza is known for its thick crust and deep dish, bottom-filled with ingredients, contrasting with the thin-crust, sauce-on-top New York-style pizza.
Italian Beef: Comedian Jon Lovett joked about the new Pope creating "a fair amount of Italian beef," a staple in Chicago cuisine[2].
Trivia: Italian beef is a sandwich made from thin slices of seasoned beef simmered in au jus and topped with provolone cheese, hot or sweet peppers, and occasionally sautéed onions.
Chicago-Style Hot Dogs: Users wondered if Pope Leo would consider it a sin to put ketchup on a Chicago-style hot dog, a traditionally mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, sport peppers, and celery salt-topped frankfurter[2].
Sports: Jokes about Pope Leo being a Cubs fan, despite his brother claiming he supports the Sox, have surfaced. Users noted the Cubs' occasional luck and related this to the new Pope's potential empathy for suffering[2].
Food Parody: Memes suggested introducing Chicago-style food to the Vatican, such as deep-dish pizza communion wafers or opening a Portillo's there[3].

These jokes reflect Chicago's pride and humor about having a native son leading the Catholic Church.

The humor derived from Pope Leo XIV's Chicago roots extended beyond city limits, as comedians and social media users worldwide embraced jokes about deep-dish pizzas and Chicago-style hot dogs.
Jon Lovett, a renowned comedian, joked about the potential for Pope Leo to create "a fair amount of Italian beef" in the Vatican, a staple of Chicago cuisine.
In a playful dig at Pope Leo's Cubs fandom, jokes about his alleged allegiance to the Cubs' archrival, the White Sox, emerged, with users pointing out the team's history of suffering.
Memes suggesting the introduction of Chicago-style food to the Vatican, such as deep-dish pizza communion wafers or opening a Portillo's there, further cemented the city's pride and humor about the new Pope.
The unique blend of humor and sacredness surrounding Pope Leo XIV's election captured the hearts of Chicago residents and beyond, as they reveled in their city's global spotlight and the profound transformation of pop-culture and entertainment.