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A Chicago-born cardinal walks into a conclave. The rest of the joke tells itself.

In the breathless day since Pope Leo XIV鈥檚 election as the first American pontiff, the memes, doctored images and tongue-in-cheek references have piled up deeper than Chicago’s pizza and more loaded than its hot dog, seemingly irresistible to comics and commoners alike.

Stained-glass windows depicting a dunking Michael Jordan? A change in canon law to make ketchup-topped frankfurters a sin? Cameos in 鈥淭he Bear鈥�? All of it apparently as tempting as the forbidden fruit.

鈥淵ou just saw a billion jokes,鈥� says Chad Nackers, who was raised Catholic and now presides as editor-in-chief of The Onion, the satirical site that heralded Robert Prevost’s elevation with an image of the smiling pontiff encased in a poppyseed-dotted bun.

鈥淐onclave Selects First Chicago-Style Pope,鈥� read the headline.

The pageantry of the church and the idea of a man who acts as a voice for God, Nackers says, combine for fertile humorous ground no matter the pontiff. Having him hail from the U.S., though, and a city as distinct as Chicago, opens up a whole new world of funny.

鈥淚t’s just kind of ripe for humor,鈥� Nackers says.

鈥淒A POPE!鈥� blared the front of the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, one of countless spins on the city鈥檚 unique accent, immortalized in 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� sketches. No matter how Pope Leo XIV actually appears, in this realm of humor, he’s a mustachioed everyman who swaps his Ts for Ds and his zucchetto for a Bears cap.

With the Second City in the spotlight, more Chicago tropes were trotted out than even the famed namesake improv troupe could dream up. The popemobile traded for the Dodge Monaco made famous in 鈥淭he Blues Brothers鈥�? Check. Twists on city-set shows and movies like 鈥淐hicago Hope,鈥� er, 鈥淐hicago Pope鈥�? Yup. Dreams of Portillo鈥檚 Italian beef sandwiches and the Chicago liqueur Mal枚rt taking the place of the bread and wine of communion? Yes, chef. Over and over again.

In sports-loving Chicago, city teams were spun in a swell of papal humor. Initial belief that the pope鈥檚 baseball loyalties were with the Cubs led content creator Caitlin Hendricks to muse that Leo ironically hates the Cardinals. As it turns out, though, it appears the man in white roots for the White Sox.

It didn鈥檛 stop those in Wrigleyville from eating up pope memes and feeling hometown pride. At the Sports World shop, one woman came in asking for a Cubs jersey with Pope Leo XIV鈥檚 name splayed across the back. Down the street at Wrigleyville Sports, Chad Grant said he wouldn鈥檛 hate Leo for rooting for the Sox, but that 鈥淚 just feel bad, because he鈥檚 been used to losing for a little while.鈥�

Late-night hosts, too, had a ball with an American鈥檚 ascension.

Jimmy Fallon mused of 鈥渄eep-dish communion wafers鈥� from a pope known as 鈥淏obby Bratwurst.鈥� Stephen Colbert, a devout Catholic who performs in a studio with nearly as much stained glass to rival St. Patrick鈥檚 Cathedral, offered patriotic 鈥淧ope-S-A鈥� chants and mentions of 鈥渄a prayers鈥� in thick Chicago tongue.

鈥淚鈥檓 actually surprised by how excited I am,鈥� Jimmy Kimmel said in his first monologue after the news. 鈥淎n American who grew up here, watched all the shows we watched, rooted for teams, is now in Rome at the head of the church 鈥� this must have been what it felt like when they opened the first Olive Garden.鈥�

More will come, a cascade of Ferris Bueller jokes and asides on canonizing Mike Ditka. There will be Oprah exuberantly shouting 鈥淵ou get a new pope! And you get a new pope!鈥� And more memes of the pope in a dyed-green Chicago River or atop its shiny 鈥淐loud Gate鈥� bean than anyone can count.

鈥淭here’s just a lot of joy in the city right now,鈥� says Ashley Lenz, a theologian in Chicago who works for the Catholic prayer app Hallow. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a certain delight of seeing something sacred break into the ordinary. The idea of a pope who鈥檚 stood in line at Portillo鈥檚 or cheered on the Sox makes it all feel closer to home. It makes the papacy feel human again.鈥�

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Associated Press writer Melina Walling contributed to this report from Chicago.

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Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and