Pope Leo XIV arrived in style for his inaugural mass at the Vatican City earlier today, and it would appear he's got plenty of support from his home country.
The inauguration mass is typically used to mark the official start of a new pope's papacy, marked by religious figures and worshippers in St Peter's Square. For Pope Leo XIV - formerly Robert Francis Prevost - today's mass (18 May) comes 10 days after he was chosen as the successor to Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 on Easter Monday.
The pontiff kicked off the occasion by taking his first ride in the official popemobile and greeting crowds of worshippers gathered from around the world to mark this historical moment in his papacy.
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And for some, the urge to honour the pontiff's North American background felt exceptionally important on such a holy day.
As Pope Leo XIV was driven through the streets of the Vatican, one visitor felt called to announce that he too was from the city of Chicago, before giving a shout out to the US equivalent of religion, sports teams.
In the extraordinary moment, which was picked up by a livestream of the event, a man could be heard shouting: "I'm from Chicago. White Sox. Go White Sox!" as the pope rode by.
This, of course, didn't go unnoticed by those who'd decided to start their Sunday by tuning into a livestream on the Vatican's official channel, with the moment quickly making its way over to social media.
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Watch the bizarre moment unfold below:
"What a time to be alive," person commented in reaction to the clip.
What a time to be alive indeed.
The moment may seem a little baffling at first, however the White Sox shoutout makes a little more sense when you factor in that Pope Leo XIV hails from the city of Chicago.
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This enthusiastic White Sox fan isn't the only Chicago native to hail the election of Pope Leo XIV as a sign that they're baseball team has divine backing either, with the pontiff is also a fan of the team.
Earlier this month it was revealed by Fox that Pope Leo had attended one of the team's games in 2005, after footage went viral on social media.
His support of the White Sox has also been confirmed by brother John Prevost, who told WGN-TV: "He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from... He was always a Sox fan."
Being a pope-approved team is something which the White Sox are fully embracing as well, with the team preparing to unveil a graphic installation in the pontiff's honour.
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"It’s been exciting obviously, to have someone of that significance be a White Sox fan," White Sox GM Chris Getz told USA Today.
"Perhaps a higher power is on our side."
Topics: Pope Leo, World News, US News, Viral, Social Media
Brenna Cooper