Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost arrives on the main central loggia balcony of the St Peter’s Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the new pope, taking the name Leo XIV, and the arrival of an American pope—the first in history—sparked celebration, jokes and lots of memes.
The papal conclave attracted a surprising amount of attention online, with TikTokers creating heavily filtered edits of the potential popes, as though the hopeful cardinals were K-pop stars.
Conclave enjoyed a spike in popularity as viewers turned in to find out more about the process (reportedly, even cardinals of the Vatican watched the film).
The Internet Made Memes To Celebrate The ‘Chicago Pope’
Once the election of Leo XIV had been announced, social media users instantly began making memes to celebrate the man who ascended from Chicago to the Vatican.
Clearly, users saw this as a cultural victory for America all around, and the internet reacted by scouring the new Pope’s X (Twitter) feed for a vibe check.
Pope Francis was considered a socially conscious leader who pushed the Catholic Church in a more progressive direction, so there was much speculation about the political ideology of Leo XIV.
Many took delight in discovering that Leo XIV had retweeted an article criticizing the Trump administration, as well as countered comments made by Vice President J.D. Vance, who has been mercilessly memed by the internet.
Some joked that Vance had “killed” Pope Francis after meeting him, and Vance being criticized by the new Pope briefly resurrected the old memes.
Not everyone was celebrating, as past comments made by Leo XIV regarding the LGBT community were viewed by many as in poor taste.
The X account “Pope Crave,” a Conclave-themed play on Pop Crave, expressed disappointment that Leo XIV appeared to be more socially conservative than his predecessor.
At the same time, conservative commentators expressed fear that Leo XIV was not conservative enough, due to his retweets against the MAGA movement.
Political commentator Laura Loomer became the face of a new meme after dubbing Leo XIV the “woke Marxist Pope,” set to the tune of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club.”
However, most of the internet focused on the fact that the first American Pope had been elected, and were ecstatic to see a Chicago-born man don the cassock.
One commentator nicknamed Leo XIV “Da Pope,” and many others made references to deep-dish pizza.
One person even accused Leo XIV of stealing jokes for Twitter clout, while another declared him to be a “Swiftie.” Most Chicagoans, however, were much more interested in the sports allegiances of the new pope.
For whatever reason, the Catholic Church has been something of a pop culture behemoth in the last few years (surely, it must be the aesthetics), with “Balenciaga Pope” being one of the first AI-generated images to go viral, and the church’s anime mascot, “Luce,” instantly becoming an icon.
Let’s hope that Leo XIV continues to make Chicagoans proud.
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