Chicago Mayor Johnson To Meet With 'Da Pope'

Two prominent Chicagoans will meet this week when Mayor Brandon Johnson travels to Rome for an audience with the Windy City’s own Pope Leo XIV, according to reports.

Johnson is expected to be in Italy and Vatican City from Tuesday through Saturday on a trip led by World Business Chicago, WLS reported.

"We're so proud, you know, as a city, as a nation, that Pope Leo has his roots right here in this beloved city,” Johnson told the outlet. “I'm looking forward to engaging with him when I talk to him about how pleased and how grateful I am for him standing up for our humanity as we have worked to stand up against the tyranny that's coming from the federal government.”

Johnson will be the latest of several high-profile Illinoisans to pay the pope a visit after Gov. JB Pritzker and a group of mayors from the state met with the religious leader, according to WBEZ and WLS.

While the mayor had originally planned to give the famously White Sox-loving pope a Cubs hat, he instead opted for giardiniera from JP Graziano Grocery, WBEZ reported, adding Johnson still intends to talk to the pope about his beloved North Side team.

“Just relax, South Siders, relax. We know what team he roots for, but our Cubbies need a blessing, too,” Johnson said, according to WBEZ, noting that regardless of their respective baseball alliances, “The pope believes, like I believe, that the Bears belong in Chicago.”