Supporters of Pope Leo XIV gathered Saturday, not in a cathedral or a neighborhood church, but a baseball stadium the pope once frequented years as Robert Francis Prevost, a South Side native and White Sox fan.
The afternoon event, which stretched nearly three hours, marked the new pope's first message to North America, and it was designed to both celebrate his roots in the Chicago area and to speak directly to young people.
In a taped message from the Vatican recorded exclusively to the audience at Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, Pope Leo acknowledged the difficulties young people faced during and since the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to "moments of anxiety, of loneliness" for people suffering more from "depression or sadness." He encouraged people to embrace local parishes where they can "discover the love of god is truly healing and it brings hope."
"You are the promise of hope for so many of us. The world looks to you … we need you," he said. "We have to look beyond our egotistical ways to promote hope."
"That light … on the horizon is not easy to see and yet as we grow in our unity, we can discover that light growing brighter and brighter and we can become that message of hope to promote peace and unity throughout the world," he said.
MORE: What we know about Leo XIV, the new American popeHe encouraged people "to do something in our own lives to serve one another." "In that service to others … we may find the true meaning in our life," he said.
The event began with two national anthems -- one from Peru and the other from the United States, two countries that can claim the pope as a legal citizen -- and ended by a full infield mass led by Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich.
"Wow, I think I'm going to remember this moment as the 'sermon of the mound,'" Cupich said during the mass.
Speakers preceding the pope's address reminisced from a stage in center field about his connection to the area. Pope Leo attended St. Mary's of the Assumption, a now shuttered South Side grade school and he grew up in Dalton, a southwest suburb. He later earned his Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park. He was ordained the following year. He started his ministry joining the Augustinian Province of Chicago.
Sister Dianne Bergant, the pope's former teacher at Catholic Theological Union, told the ballpark audience that she remembered him as "a good student" and said she retained grade lists spanning her 45 years in the classroom, so she has "proof" of his academic success. On the day in May when the world learned of his election, she said she was "overwhelmed with emotion" but added, it wasn't happiness she felt, but something more.
"It was just a kind of awesomeness. Somebody's gotta be pope, no question about that. Why not him? They have to come from somewhere. Why not Chicago?" she asked the crowd. "It says something about the education he got."
Father John Merkelis, the pope's former high school classmate, said he continues an email correspondence with the pope. "I had emailed him night before conclave. I told him whatever happens I'll still like you," Merkelis said. "He said he's sleeping well because an American is not going to be a pope."
While he acknowledged that the pope's newfound global notoriety means that there will no longer be opportunities to go out for "pizza and beer" as they had done in the past, the world will benefit from someone so "down to earth."
"He's a bridge builder," he said. "He's deliberate. He's thoughtful. He will lift all sides, but he will make up his own mind. He's a prayerful man. He's a regular guy."
After the election, when it was discovered that Pope Leo had attended the 2005 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros — sitting in section 140, row 19, specifically — the franchise has embraced all things pontiff. T-shirts with the number 14 on the back were for sale on the ballpark grounds, and the team unveiled a mural bearing his likeness. This week the team posted on X a photo of the pope wearing a White Sox cap given to him earlier in the week.
MORE: Pope Leo XIV to celebrate inaugural mass Sunday, thousands expected to gatherWhite Sox Senior Vice President Brooks Boyer acknowledged that the number 14 is special in Chicago baseball lore — it's a number shared by both Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks and former Chicago White Sox team captain Paul Konerko, Boyer said. "It's clear there are many parallel characteristics between the Vatican and baseball and Chicago when it comes to that special number," he said.
Boyer publicly invited the pope to "throw out a ceremonial pitch" and said the team sent a ball to the Vatican "to get his arm prepared."
"The mound is waiting. Your crowd is certainly ready. And your team the White Sox is here with open arms," he said. "You pick the date."
