New Pope’s Brother Shares Unexpected Detail About Conclave Prep And Baseball Loyalty

John Prevost described Pope Leo XIV's historic election as "totally unreal."
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The brother of newly elected Pope Leo XIV on Thursday shared a surprising detail about how the pontiff prepared for the secretive ritual of conclave, while also settling a major question on where his allegiance lies when it comes to Chicago baseball teams.

In an interview with Chicago station WMAQ-TV, John Prevost, who described his brother’s election as “totally unreal,” revealed he had previously asked the new pope whether he had watched the Oscar-winning movie “Conclave” in the lead-up to the voting process.

“I said, ‘Did you watch the movie “Conclave” so you know how to behave?’ and he had just finished watching the movie,” Prevost said.

The new pope was apparently not alone in seeking out clues from the film. A cleric involved in the vote told Politico that some of the 133 cardinals who took part in the election to pick Pope Francis’ successor watched “Conclave” in movie theaters.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who now goes by his selected papal name of Pope Leo XIV, on Thursday made history as the first U.S.-born pontiff. Leo XIV, who emerged triumphant after four rounds of voting, is originally from Chicago’s South Side, according to the Chicago-Sun Times and The New York Times.

In a separate interview with WGN, Prevost revealed which Chicago baseball team his brother supports.

“He was never, ever a Cubs fan. So I don’t know where that came from,” Prevost said. “He was always a [White] Sox fan.”

Prevost added that the confusion over the new pope’s team loyalty may have stemmed from their mother’s roots.

“Our mother was a Cubs fan,” he said. “Our mom’s family was from the north side. That’s why they were Cubs fans.”

@WGNNews' <a href=https://www.huffpost.com/"https://twitter.com/DanaRebikWGN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\%22>@DanaRebikWGN <a href=https://www.huffpost.com/"https://t.co/DvMiGZ0qHY/">pic.twitter.com/DvMiGZ0qHY

— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) <a href=https://www.huffpost.com/"https://twitter.com/Josh_Frydman/status/1920580787964981273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\%22>May 8, 2025</a></blockquote>","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Josh Frydman","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Josh_Frydman","cache_age":86400,"description":"Obviously the biggest question surrounding Chicago native Robert Prevost now that he is Pope Leo XIV: Cubs or White Sox? His brother gave the definitive answer to @WGNNews' @DanaRebikWGN pic.twitter.com/DvMiGZ0qHY— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) May 8, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1920580671208116224/img/Gj5QH_34LNnjI_41.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Josh Frydman on Twitter / 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Obviously the biggest question surrounding Chicago native Robert Prevost now that he is Pope Leo XIV: Cubs or White Sox? His brother gave the definitive answer to @WGNNews' @DanaRebikWGN pic.twitter.com/DvMiGZ0qHY

— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) May 8, 2025

The pope’s other brother, Louis Prevost, shared that the pontiff was drawn to religion from a young age.

“I used to, I still do it, you know, play with guns, knives, balls and arrows,” Louis Prevost told the BBC. “He would play priest.”

“And we just teased him, ‘You’re going to be the pope. You want to be the pope,’” he continued. “Here we are today. He knew from an early stage he wanted to be a priest, and he did.”

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