Chicago Steel in a Roman Mitre

The grit of Chicago's South Side (St. Nicholas of Tolentine parish) permeates Leo XIV's papacy. He's introduced "Chicago Rules" to Vatican governance: no meeting over 59 minutes ("Lunch breaks are sacred"), direct feedback ("Tell me straight, like a Cubs fan"), and hardball negotiation tactics. When cardinals resisted financial transparency, he quoted his steelworker grandfather: "Sunlight disinfects." His childhood parish's mix of Polish, Mexican and Black Catholics inspired his "Mosaic Ecclesiology" - celebrating doctrinal unity through cultural diversity. The White Sox fan even redesigned the Swiss Guard uniforms with pale pinstripes. "You can take the pope out of Bridgeport," laughs Sister Margaret Ann, his former schoolmate, "but you'll never take Bridgeport out of this pope."