The Archdiocese of Chicago will host a celebration at the home of the famous Chicago White Sox on June 14 to honor Pope Leo XIV.
The public are invited to attend the 14 June event at Rate Field stadium with the archdiocese urging people to "Mark your calendars!" The event is described as a “once-in-a-lifetime celebration of the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pope born and raised in the Chicago area", according to a <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://www.archchicago.org/media-alerts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> </mark>released by the archdiocese.
“Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace, unity and the key to a meaningful life have touched hearts across the globe,” the archdiocese said. “This celebration is an extraordinary opportunity for people from the city and beyond to come together in shared pride for one of our own.”
Following the Pope's election on 8 May, as the news sunk in at his baseball-mad hometown of Chicago, there was much speculation as to which baseball team the new pope is a fan of, <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264201/chicago-to-celebrate-election-of-pope-leo-xiv-with-mass-at-white-sox-stadium">reports</a> </mark>US-based<em> Catholic News Agency (CNA). </em>
The rivalry between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs – typically viewed as the underdogs – is one of the longest and keenest felt in US baseball history.
Pope Leo XIV’s brother, John Prevost, <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://wgntv.com/news/pope-leo/robert-prevost-pope-leo-xiv-chicago-cubs-sox/">told</a> </mark>local television station <em>WGN</em> that the pontiff was “always a Sox fan".
“He was never, ever a Cubs fan. So I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,” John Prevost said.
Though he noted how the family household was split when it came to baseball allegiances, with the Prevost brothers' mother being a Cubs fan, while their father was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Subsequently, a 20-year-old <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://x.com/MLBONFOX/status/1921000175608185288" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a> </mark>surfaced of then-Father Robert Prevost attending a 2005 World Series game between the White Sox and the Houston Astros. <br><br>The White Sox have recognised this with a visual tribute at Rate Field stadium marking the section where the then priest and future pope watched the game, reports<em> CatholicVot</em>e.
The forthcoming special event honouring the new Pope at the White Sox stadium will feature music, film, testimonials and prayer, before concluding with a Mass.
<em>Photo: Joshua Palacios, #47 of the Chicago White Sox, reacts after hitting a double during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois, 19 May 2025. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images.)</em>
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