This is the text of a letter that Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered Thursday to Pope Leo XIV:
City of Chicago Office of the Mayor
Mayor Brandon Johnson
May 28, 2026
Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV,
October 5, 1979, is forever remembered as the most spiritually inspiring day in Chicago history. Pope John Paul I’s visit to Chicago and the Holy Mass he officiated in Grant Park was an event so powerful, it drew more than a million of the faithful to share in the Gospel.
Beyond the confines of Grant Park, the Pope’s visit brought families from all walks of life to their porch steps to witness his motorcade as it wound through Chicago’s neighborhoods – communities built on hope, faith and hard work. Families wrote messages on bedsheets and strung them outside their windows.
In Pilsen, where the Pope addressed the crowds in Spanish, one priest recalled: “What we saw when be arrived was something I won’t forget. He was a human being. His cassock was wrinkled. There was no golden aura, no clouds to surround him. When he looked at me, I saw a serene face filled with confidence, and I found myself practically crying.”
Your Holiness, you were a young priest-in-training at the time. Perhaps you were there. Perhaps you would consider a repeat Papal visit nearly 50 years later to share your own message of hope, unity and service.
On behalf of the people of Chicago, I write with profound respect and humility to invite you to visit your hometown in 2027 and officiate Holy Mass in Grant Park. Your witness to mercy, unity, peace and human dignity would offer tremendous hope to our city and beyond.
For generations, Catholics in Chicago have built churches, schools, hospitals and ministries that continue to serve millions of people across our region. Chicago is home to one of the nation’s largest Catholic populations. It remains a place where the Church’s mission is lived each day through service to the disenfranchised, the sick and vulnerable, and those searching for belonging.
As the son of a pastor growing up in Elgin, my family participated in morning prayers at 5:30 a.m. every day and joined in regular Bible study. My personal faith is not a sporadic calling. It is the centerpiece of my life’s purpose. It would be my deepest honor to welcome you back to your childhood home; I humbly invite you to ‘elige’ Chicago.
With deepest gratitude and appreciation,
Brandon Johnson
Mayor of Chicago
Cc: Cardinal Blase J. Cupich