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The Chicago White Sox just heaped praise on Pope Leo XIV ... after he blessed their timeline with some Cubs shade!!

The head of the Catholic Church threw a quick quip at the North Siders on Wednesday while at the Vatican ... when he responded to a fan who shouted "Go Cubs" at him.

"Han perdido!" he fired back. "They lost!"

It didn't take long for the South Siders to get wind of the barb ... and when it reached them, they reposted it to their official X page with the caption, "That's our Pope." Gallery Launch Gallery Getty/Shutterstock

It's, of course, far from the first time the Pope's been affiliated with the MLB ... he's a known White Sox diehard who's actually autographed at least one baseball during his brief tenure as His Holiness.

As for the Cubs,

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