NEW YORK – Cubs manager Craig Counsell embraced questions about Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago and on Thursday was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church.

“As a Catholic, it’s my responsibility to answer pope questions,” he joked before the Cubs’ game against the Mets on Friday.

The assembled reporters took him up on that.

The new pope’s baseball fandom became a topic of discussion after false reports identified him as a Cubs fan. It turns out, he’s long rooted for the White Sox. The Sun-Times even unearthed a photo of him in the U.S. Cellular Field stands during the 2005 World Series.

Counsell, however, artfully steered the conversation away from the crosstown rivalry.

“I think the pope should be focusing on the Bulls because they’ve got the [NBA Draft] lottery,” Counsell said. “First pick in the lottery and getting Cooper Flagg is what the pope should focus on – for Chicago sports fans.”

The lottery is Monday, and the Bulls only have a 1.8% chance of drawing the No.1 pick. Prayers from the leader of the Catholic Church couldn’t hurt, right?

Counsell, a University of Notre Dame alumnus, also got a kick out of conversations about the pope’s alma mater.

He attended another Catholic institution, Villanova University in the Philadelphia area. So, there was a future pope growing up just up the road from Notre Dame, and the school whiffed on him.

It’s unclear whether the future Pope Leo XIV considered Notre Dame. Maybe he did but preferred Villanova.

“Maybe Notre Dame did not let him in the university, and that [means] we did not let the future Pope into the university,” Counsell said with a smile. “It’s a possibility you have to acknowledge.”