Pope Leo XIV answered questions about his personal history with Bl Fulton Sheen’s television programmes and the surprising success of the Chicago White Sox during Friday’s papal trip to France.
Pope Leo recounted to OSV News’ Courtney Mares that he watched Bl Sheen’s television show as a child, joking: “I’m that old.” Pope Leo was born in 1955; Bl Sheen’s first television programme, Life is Worth Living, aired from 1952 to 1957, and The Fulton Sheen Program from 1961 to 1968.
“We watched him as a family, and it was a way of spending some time together as a family with the truths, the teachings that he shared in such an enthusiastic, lively way, especially considering that day and age,” he said.
The messages shared by Bl Sheen were “something that really came home to people and I think helped us as a family”, he said.
Pope Leo said he was happy to have been able to approve the rescheduling of Bl Fulton Sheen’s beatification, and that he received messages during Thursday’s Mass.
“I received messages during the beatification ceremony yesterday writing and saying, ‘Why weren’t you here?’ That would’ve been so great,” he said.
Also on the papal plane, a rather unorthodox question from a member of the press prompted some laughter: is Pope Leo responsible for his favourite baseball team’s recent success?
On Thursday, the Chicago White Sox clinched their first playoff appearance in five years, a remarkable turnaround after back-to-back-to-back historically terrible seasons. In 2024, the White Sox set a modern-era record for the number of losses in one season with 121. In 2025, the White Sox did not do much better, losing 102 games.
The 2026 White Sox are the first Major League Baseball team to make the postseason the year after two 100-loss seasons in a row.
Pope Leo XIV has been a longtime devoted fan of the White Sox, and the team has loved him right back. Shortly after he was elected pope, the team installed a mural near where he sat during the 2005 World Series, and this year, the White Sox held a “Pope Hat Night” in his honour.
The Pope has confirmed he still watches their games when he can.
Following Thursday’s win, the Chicago White Sox posted a picture on X of Pope Leo smiling and giving a thumbs up, captioning it: “The Pope right now (probably).”
On Friday, a reporter on the papal plane asked Pope Leo about the success of the team – and to see if the Pope had pulled in a supernatural favour or two.
“Some call it a miracle. Do you have anything to do with that?” he asked.
“No comment,” said Pope Leo, smiling, adding: “Great things happen in Chicago.”
