Pope Leo XIV Appears To Bless The New York Knicks

It's well-known that Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Prevost, is a diehard Chicago White Sox fan. But as the NBA Finals approach, it appears he's giving his papal seal of approval to the New York Knicks.

A clip has been going viral of a Knicks fan in Vatican City repeatedly yelling for the pontiff to say "Go Knicks" while he was being driven through the street. At one point, the Pope Leo looks back at the fan and gives him a thumbs up, seemingly giving his vote of support for the team.

Knicks fans proudly proclaimed that they've been given the papal blessing and that their team is going to win the NBA title for sure.

"The Knicks are winning the Finals now and we know that God is behind us," one user declared.

"Knicks have the Mandate of Heaven… Villanova represent," wrote another.

"You gotta hand it to a guy who uses his once-in-a-lifetime interaction with the Pope not to ask to be healed or forgiven but to give the Knicks a thumbs up," a third joked.

"The Vatican is pulling for the Knicks. Praise Jesus."

"our father (jalen brunson) who art in heaven (MSG) hallowed be thy name (the chip)"

The Second City Pope

Of course, Pope Leo is a Chicago native and while his missionary work in Peru kept him from seeing any of the Michael Jordan era up close, he's most likely a Chicago Bulls fan.

That being said, Pope Leo is also a Villanova alum, achieving his BS in math in 1977 (one year before Rollie Massimino led them to their first-ever conference title). As it so happens, Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, forward Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges are all Villanova alumni too, so it's possible he has a preference for them

It may take some divine intervention for the Knicks to win this series. They're going to be underdogs no matter which of the Spurs or Thunder wins the Western Conference.

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 5:28 PM.