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When images came out on October 27 showing Pope Leo XIV holding a customized Chicago Cubs jersey with Mar Awa III, many people were confused.
The Pope, after all, is a well-known and devoted fan of the Chicago White Sox, the other Major League Baseball team from Chicago. And in the picture of the two commemorating the gift exchange, Awa III's smile is considerably bigger than Leo's.
The New York Times noted the apparent "gaffe" with an article about the gift titled "Once Again: The Pope Likes That Other Chicago Team, Not the Cubs."
But as it turns out, Mar Awa III, the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, knew exactly what he was doing. Mar Awa III, born David Royel, has something in common with Pope Leo: they are both from Chicago. Awa III, unlike Leo, hails from the Chicago's north side — Chicago Cubs territory.
In a post on Instagram, Awa III confirmed that he gave him the Cubs jersey on purpose, "in honor of all our north side Chicagoans."
"I had the joy of meeting His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this morning, along with a delegation of bishops and priests of our holy Church," he said in the post on Monday.
"Needless to say, the pope enjoyed his gift very much," said the post, along with a smiling emoji.
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On social media, many users thought Awa's gift was the perfect tongue-in-cheek thing that someone from the north side of Chicago would do.
"Being the head of a church, who is equivalent in rank to the pope, yet whose church branched off from the main catholic church during the Nestorian Schism of the 5th century, and meeting the Chicago pope, and also being born in Chicago, and doing this, is a pretty good bit," wrote one X user.
"No matter what happens these church leaders are just guys from the Southside and the North side," said another X user, adding "He knew exactly what he was doing with a Cubs Jersey gift."
Canon lawyer and Catholic journalist Ed Condon, who is a committed fan of the Chicago Cubs, had a different take.
"We will not stop until Leo wears the hat," he said.
More than just Cubs jokes
The meeting between Leo and Awa was the continuation of a dialogue between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Catholic Church that began about 30 years ago. The Assyrian Church of the East is not in communion with the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Oriental Orthodox churches.
"I welcome His Holiness Mar Awa III as a beloved brother in Christ. I also warmly extend my greetings to the members of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. Fraternal encounter and theological dialogue are mutually constitutive elements on the path toward unity," said Leo in a post on Instagram.
Pope Leo hopes to "jointly develop(ing) a model of full communion, inspired by the first millennium, while thoughtfully responding to the challenges of our time."
This model, he said, should be centered on synodality and working together, rather than one church absorbing another. Synodality, said Leo, is "a promising path forward."
On Tuesday, the Pope led an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II document that is dedicated to the Church's relationship with other religions, Nostra Aetate.
