The new Pope was announced at the Vatican on Thursday as Robert Prevost, a Chicago-born missionary who will be the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s history. The 69-year-old Prevost will take the name Leo XIV, and the internet at large responded with basically two types of reactions: 1) the far-right conservatives who whined that Leo was a “woke Marxist,” and 2) all the other normal people who were just making jokes about the Pope being from Chicago.
Pope Leo has been on Twitter since 2011 and has a history of tweets that are now being dissected by online sleuths and political operatives to determine if he’s a Good Pope or a Bad Pope. And while trying to map a Catholic leader’s politics to fit an American understanding of the political landscape is silly on many levels, that hasn’t stopped people from trying, especially since Leo has tweeted criticism of Vice President JD Vance’s views on Catholicism and retweeted criticism of President Donald Trump’s views on immigrants.
Those tweets have caused people like conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer to melt down, writing “WOKE MARXIST POPE” in response to one of Leo’s old tweets from 2015 about Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. Mike Cernovich, a far-right Pizzagate conspiracy theorist who was invited to the White House after Trump took office, called the new pope, “a shitlib who was given a title by the Lavender Mafia to sow division in my country.”
But that’s enough about whiners on Twitter. What about the jokes? The good, old-fashioned American tradition of making jokes about the Second City—whether it’s deep dish pizza, hot dogs, or the Bears? Well, there’s been plenty of that too. And below we’ve got some of our favorites.
“Chicago Pope” is like a 1994 SNL sketch. Airs at 12:20am, the only gag is that Chris Farley has a mustache and is doing a big accent. David Spade and the guest host (Joe Mantegna) keep breaking during it.
— David_j_roth (@davidjroth.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:20 AM
you know who else came from chicago and was on “a mission from god”
— tef (@tef.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
— An argument for the pit (@jeblucas.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:32 AM
catholics: oh hey u guys are back early
me: pope’s woke
catholics: what?
me: *grabs rosary, heads toward the confessional* pope’s woke
— e.w. niedermeyer (@niedermeyer.online) May 8, 2025 at 3:49 PM
“chicago pope” is one of the shows jack donaghy greenlit when he was tanking nbc
— bobby di frociaggine (@bobbylewis.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
The first pope to transubstantiate Malort into Christ’s blood
— Jessica Smetana (@jessicasmetana.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:37 AM
I’m sorry, I’m sorry
— Dennis B. Hooper (@dennisbhooper.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:35 AM
new pope!
*crowd goes wild*
American pope!
*crowd boos*
woke for an American!
*crowd goes wild*
bad on protecting abusive priests!
*crowd boos*
hates JD Vance!
*crowd goes wild*
— Micah (@rincewind.run) May 8, 2025 at 10:33 AM
American Pope
Stay away from meeeee
American Pope
Papa let me beeeeeDon’t come knockin’ ’round my door
I don’t wanna see the pontif no more
Colored robes can hypnotize
But I don’t want anymore kids to dieI gotta go, I dun wanna pray
Pope, I gotta go, I wanna fly awayI’m gonna leave you Popey
— Tyler, from the Internet (@tylerjameshill.com) May 8, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Arguing that the thin square-cut wafers are the actual Chicago-style communion
— Patrick Cosmos (@veryimportant.lawyer) May 8, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Pope Leo the XIV when JD Vance https://t.co/1D89u8FR55 pic.twitter.com/792FfjcYug
— 679 Enthusiast (@marionumber4) May 8, 2025
🎶 PINK PONY CLUB 🎶
— Eric Columbus (@ericcolumbus.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 11:36 AM
The Chicago Pope implies the existence of a New Keynesian Pope and a Behavioral Pope
— Maia (@maiamindel.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 11:05 AM
there’s no stopping the Latin American meme machine
— Laura MartĂnez 🥑 (@miblogestublog.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Vatican: Siamese Dream superior to Nevermind
— warrior cop (@wyattprivilege.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
To the tune of Eric Carmen’s 1975 hit All By Myself:
— Damien Owens (@damienowens.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
the New Pope says he’s from Chicago but he’s *actually* from Naperville
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 10:19 AM
JD Vance frantically googling “Russian orthodoxy main beliefs what?”
— josh (@joshweathersby.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
— Benito Cereno (@benitocereno.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 2:36 PM
— evan loves worf (@esjesjesj) May 8, 2025
