‘DA POPE!’ Leo XIV’s Chicago roots unleash spate of holy humor

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1. >..Late-night hosts, too, had a ball with an American’s ascension.

   >Jimmy Fallon mused of “deep-dish communion wafers” from a pope known as “Bobby Bratwurst.” [Stephen Colbert, a devout Catholic](https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-vatican-comedians-f702834c1c07bc5988e39ef88458b6b8) who performs in a studio with nearly as much stained glass to rival St. Patrick’s Cathedral, offered patriotic “Pope-S-A” chants and mentions of “da prayers” in thick Chicago tongue.

   >“I’m actually surprised by how excited I am,” Jimmy Kimmel said in his first monologue after the news. “An American who grew up here, watched all the shows we watched, rooted for teams, is now in Rome at the head of the church … this must have been what it felt like when they opened the first Olive Garden.”

   >More will come, a cascade of Ferris Bueller jokes and asides on canonizing Mike Ditka. There will be Oprah exuberantly shouting “You get a new pope! And you get a new pope!” And more memes of the pope in a dyed-green Chicago River or atop its shiny [“Cloud Gate” bean](https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bean-tourist-selfie-skyscraper-a312d27aa93f01f9f8df409354e40c88) than anyone can count.

   >“There’s just a lot of joy in the city right now,” says Ashley Lenz, a theologian in Chicago who works for [the Catholic prayer app Hallow.](https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-ads-christianity-jesus-religion-football-4e5fa8372701eae1a95d716a77172280) “There’s a certain delight of seeing something sacred break into the ordinary. The idea of a pope who’s stood in line at Portillo’s or cheered on the Sox makes it all feel closer to home. It makes the papacy feel human again.”

   **Soli Deo gloria**

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