New England Patriots legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman got it right on the Chicago Bears‘ connection with Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV.
Gronkowski and Edelman talked about the Bears-Pope connection before the season on their “Dudes on Dudes” podcast, and now it looks prophetic — sort of. The Bears are hosting a Divisional Round game on Sunday amid a big turnaround season, all during Pope Leo XIV’s first year in office since his May 8 election.
“It’s gonna literally take a pope to make the Chicago Bears pretty good now,” Edelman said.
“They’re not going to make the Super Bowl, but they’re gonna make the playoffs,” Gronkowski added.
“You make the playoffs, that’s a big step, that’s big for them,” Edelman said.
“I mean, the Bears also got hope that the pope is praying for them every single day as well,” Gronkowski said.
“Da Bears, da Bears,” Edelman joked, pretending to pray.
“Da Bears,” Gronkowski added to the pretend prayer.
“Da Bears,” Edelman finished, with praying hands.
“The Bears might be playoff decency because of the pope,” Gronkowski added.
The video simultaneously showed a screen shot of the pope, then Father Robert Prevost, attending a Chicago White Sox World Series game in 2005. The White Sox won the world championship in a 4-0 sweep of the Houston Astros.
Not only have the Bears made the playoffs, they pulled off a stunning comeback with a 31-27 win over the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round. The Bears trailed 21-3 at halftime and rallied with 25 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Chicago faces the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional round on Sunday.
Is Pope Leo Really Praying For the Bears?
GettyPope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, is a Chicago sports fan.
Whether or not the pope is praying for the Bears is up for debate.
On the field, one area hasn’t been resolved.
“They got a pope before they got a 4,000-yard passer huh?,” Edelman joked about the Bears.
“They sure did,” Gronkowski interjected.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams came up 58 yards short of 4,000 yards this season. But the Bears’ legacy of losing didn’t last in 2025 with an 11-5 record and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
In addition, there isn’t concrete evidence of high-ranking clergy or God impacting the results of sporting events. The pope releases monthly prayer intentions which are regarding concerns throughout the world versus pastimes such as sports.
That said, the late Pope Francis’ then-Twitter account mentioned blessing the New Orleans Saints by accident in 2019 ahead of the Catholic feast of All Saints. In addition, Pope Francis’ and then-pope emeritus Benedict XVI’s home countries of Argentina and Germany made the World Cup final in 2014.
Why Does This Matter For the Patriots?
Besides Gronkowski and Edelman making light of the Bears-pope connection, the Patriots and Bears could meet in the Super Bowl for the first time in 40 years.
That all hinges on Sunday’s games, but both teams are the No. 2 seeds and playing at home against teams they can beat. In the 1985 season, the Bears routed the Patriots 46-10, but a 40th anniversary rematch would likely go much different.
Chicago had the elite defense and all-time great running back Walter Payton, and the team made the “Super Bowl Shuffle” dance popular at the time. The Patriots were a Wild Card team with quarterback Tony Eason under center and improved on a 9-7 season.
How Patriots Legends Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman Nailed Bears-Pope Outcome