The Chicago Sun-Times fully leaned in with a fantastic front ... It was even through the Villanova connection that New Yorkers — bless them — were able to make the election of Pope Leo XIV about themselves, or at least about the Knicks.

Prevost, who chose the papal name Pope Leo XIV, grew up in south suburban Dolton, and attended Catholic Theological Union.

Chicagoans celebrated the historic election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the U.S. and a Chicago native, with joy and hope for a renewed focus on social justice and unity within the Catholic Church.

Eire suggested that one of the reasons Pope Leo was chosen is that he is not a “full-blown American.” Despite being born in Chicago and graduating from Villanova University, Pope Leo is a Peruvian citizen who spent over two decades in Peru as a missionary and as a bishop.

Realtor Steve Budzik tells PEOPLE that the Dolton, Ill., property, which was once home to Pope Leo and his family, is “a once in a lifetime opportunity for both myself and my client”

The school's students and staff expressed shock and excitement following the recent election of the first-ever American pope.

Long live the Pope!” chanted sixth graders from Everest Academy, a Catholic school in Lemont, Ill., in front of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, following the election of Pope Leo XIV on Thursday. American Cardinal Robert ...

Not only is the new pope American, he’s a Chicagoan, and the Windy City has already capitalized on commemorating the historic achievement. Chicago staple OBVIOUS SHIRTS released a Chicago-themed pope collection Thursday,

A Chicago-born cardinal walks into a conclave. The rest of the joke tells itself. In the breathless day since Pope Leo XIV’s election as the first American pontiff, the memes, doctored images and tongue-in-cheek references have piled up deeper than Chicago’s pizza and more loaded than its hot dog.