Lifelong Chicago White Sox fan Pope Leo XIV tuned into his namesake-themed night where a sold-out crowd wore pontiff-style Sox hats and baseball fans shared a mass “peace be with you” greeting.
And he was aware the first-place White Sox blew the game in the 10th inning.
That’s according to U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who had an audience with the pope the day after the Aug. 11 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
“He immediately told me that the night before, the White Sox had lost, despite the fact that it was Pope Leo Day at Rate Field,” Krishnamoorthi said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times Friday. “I was really surprised that he was following the White Sox so religiously, pun intended.”
Krishnamoorthi said the two shared a laugh, and he found it “shocking” that the leader of the Catholic Church was indeed paying attention to his beloved team.
“He’s got this huge entourage, and he’s in his beautiful vestments, white vestments. And the first thing he said to me was, ‘Can you believe it? The Sox lost last night, and it was Pope Leo Day,'” Krishnamoorthi said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And my colleagues just burst out in laughter. … For the pope to bring it up first thing, it’s just amazing.”
The White Sox on Friday told the Sun-Times that knowing Pope Leo actually watched his favorite baseball team on “Pope Night” made the night “even better.”
“Thanks to our fans, the ballpark had a wonderful, community feel that night, and hopefully, Pope Leo felt that sense of community through the broadcast,” the team said. “We’re only sorry he maybe went to bed — very late — disappointed in the outcome that night.”
The White Sox also sent a gift box to Pope Leo with mementos from the game, including one of the Sox pope hats.
For his part, Krishnamoorthi brought the pope an unexpected gift: a Chicago Cubs jersey.
“I thought, well maybe we could give him a Cubs jersey and in the process, hopefully, get some blessings for our beloved Cubs and maybe the chance for an all Chicago World Series someday,” Krishnamoorthi said.
The White Sox drew a sold-out game of 41,000 fans, with all attendees given a White Sox-pontiff hat, which players wore in the dugout after big plays. Famed former White Sox organist Nancy Faust returned to her seat to play the national anthem after the first pitch was thrown out by Sister Mary Jo Sobieck of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. And just before the seventh-inning stretch, the team held a fifth-inning “peace be with you,” led by Evergreen Park and Marist High School alum Rev. Tom Hurley and comedian Pat McGann.
Former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski also met with Pope Leo at the Vatican in June and presented him with the baseball from the final out of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, which Pope Leo attended as a fan. Pierzynski recalled his meeting with the pope in a social media post and in interviews and also confirmed the pontiff was paying attention to the Sox.
“Of course. Of course he is,” Pierzynski said in an interview with 670 The Score last month.
Pope Leo has also donned a White Sox hat during a general audience at the Vatican.