The hottest ticket in Chicago for Tuesday, August 11 is a ticket to the White Sox game against the Cincinnati Reds – and it’s not because the team is currently in first in the American League’s Central Division.
It’s because it’s “Pope Hat Night”, a night honouring the world’s most famous Chicago White Sox fan, Pope Leo XIV.
Presently on StubHub, a major ticket resale website, the cheapest ticket to Tuesday’s sold-out game is $49. That’s more than double the cheapest ticket for Wednesday’s contest against Cincinnati. Tuesday’s game was also tagged with StubHub’s “Hottest Event” flag.
Every attendee at Tuesday’s game will receive a White Sox-inspired "Pope hat". When the event was initially announced in April, only a limited number of fans would receive the hats – as is typical for stadium giveaways. The promotion was expanded to include all fans following ‘massive demand’, said the White Sox.
“The fans have spoken, and unlike some of our more limited-quantity promotions, the White Sox Pope hat is one we believe all fans should have the opportunity to take home,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox chief revenue and marketing officer, in a statement in April.
“We viewed the promotion as a creative way to celebrate one of the franchise’s most popular fans, and by the overwhelming response we received, White Sox fans certainly agreed,” he added.
Aside from the hats, there will be other events honouring Pope Leo and the city’s Catholic culture before and during Tuesday’s game.
The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. In 2018, her ceremonial first pitch at a White Sox game – a perfect strike – earned her an ESPY Award nomination for Best Viral Sports Moment.
Students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, a Catholic elementary school in the Chicago suburb of Lakeview, will be honoured during a pregame “Take the Field” ceremony. The students, who went viral in 2025 for their mock conclave, will stand by the White Sox starting line-up.
The Chicago White Sox Charities will make a $14,000 donation to the Midwest Augustinian Province, which Pope Leo belonged to as a priest and led for two years.
During the game, artist Nick Apple will paint a live mural, “celebrating Pope Leo XIV’s White Sox fandom”, said the White Sox.
And in the most unusual part of the programme, the Chicago White Sox will host a fifth-inning “Peace Be With You” among fans, to be led by Chicago priest Fr Tom Hurley and comedian Pat McGann.
“In a playful nod to the Catholic Mass tradition, fans throughout Rate Field will be invited to share a ‘Peace Be With You’ greeting with those around them, creating a memorable, ballpark-wide moment celebrating community, good sportsmanship and Chicago pride.”
Pope Leo’s baseball preferences have been a hot topic of discussion since the day he was elected Pope. After it became known that the new leader of the Catholic Church was born and raised in Chicago, many people wondered if the new Pontiff was a fan of the Chicago Cubs or the Chicago White Sox.
While early reports erroneously had Pope Leo rooting for the Cubs, his brother John quickly shot those rumours down and confirmed that he was “always a Sox fan”. Video emerged of the future Pope in the crowd at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, further proving his fan credentials.
The White Sox, on their part, wasted no time installing a mural in the stadium near where he sat, and have fully embraced his fandom.
Pope Leo has an "open invitation" to throw a ceremonial first pitch at a White Sox game, and during a particularly rough patch of last season, Boyer, the revenue and marketing officer for the team, even joked that the Pope could take an at-bat if he wished.
Pope Leo recently told a former player that he still watches the team’s games and follows its progress, something the players themselves remarked on mid-game.
“Leo, if you’re watching this game right now, say a quick prayer for a Jacob Gonzalez homer. Right now,” Drew Romo, a catcher on the White Sox, was heard saying during the June 26 game against the Kansas City Royals.
Gonzalez immediately hit a home run, and the White Sox would go on to score a record number of runs that game.
“It’s working, Leo!” yelled pitcher Mike Vasil.
