The Chicago Cubs launched a preemptive strike on Thursday, claiming that Chicago-native and newly elected Pope Leo XIV is a Cubs fan.

The claim spread worldwide before the Chicago White Sox or anyone else realized what was happening.

“Hey, Chicago. He’s a Cubs fan!” the sign read.

ABC Conclave anchors David Muir and Terry Moran ran with the claim and even spent air time discussing how the pope, a fan of the hard-luck North Siders, was already well “acquainted with suffering.”

Then, WGNTV in Chicago did some real reporting and went as straight to the source as someone could go without talking to Pope Leo XIV; they went to his brother.

“He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from,” said John Prevost. “He was always a Sox fan. Our mother was a Cubs fan. I don’t know, maybe that clued in there, and our dad was a Cardinals fan, so I don’t know where all that came from.

“And all the Aunts, our mom’s family was from the north side, so that’s why they were Cubs fans.”

In addition to his brother’s testimony, the Chicago Sun-Times produced a picture purported to be the future pontiff decked out in ChiSox gear as the South Siders squared off against the Astros in the 2005 World Series.

After the interview with the pope’s brother went viral, the White Sox, finding themselves in the unusual position of having something to celebrate, posted the video alongside a message on the team’s video board inside Rate Field saying, “Well, would you look at that… Congratulations to Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV.”

The White Sox aren’t the only team drawing hope from the newly minted pontiff. According to the New York Post, Knicks fans also found cause for optimism given that Leo XIV graduated from Villanova, the same college basketball powerhouse from which Knicks stars Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikai Bridges hailed.

So, Pope Leo XIV seems to be already succeeding in one major aspect of his job: spreading hope.