Seventeen-year-old Courtney Beatty was torn between going to a “No Kings” protest in Chicago or to the hometown celebration for Pope Leo XIV at the White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday, June 15. In the end, the St. Ignatius College Prep student did both.
Beatty and her parents stopped by the downtown protest before joining thousands of others for the afternoon bash and Mass for the Chicago-born pope. “Especially in light of current events, I felt that in addition to being here for my faith, I had to do my civic duty and be part of that,” said Beatty, who was sporting a “Dissent is patriotic” sticker on her baseball cap. “I need to be representing the things I believe in.”
The Beatty family were joined by thousands of others for the baseball-themed celebration of Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, who grew up as a White Sox fan in the nearby suburb of Dolton. The event, organized by the Archdiocese of Chicago, featured music, remembrances from a former teacher and classmate, and a prerecorded video message from the pope himself, as well as Mass with Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich.
The mood was joyous and the crowd was diverse. Latino, Black, and white residents—even Cubs fans—came together to celebrate their faith and the first U.S.-born pope, who has so far been cheered by Catholics of all ideological stripes. Although the event was sold out, the stadium was about half-filled, for a crowd of about 20,000—more than the struggling White Sox attract in an average game this season. The Mass and celebration–which included readings, songs and prayers in English, Spanish, Polish, and Zulu—was also livestreamed to about 100,000 viewers.
At the ball field, there were “Da Pope” T-shirts, lots of White Sox jerseys with the number 14 and chants of “Let’s go, Leo, let’s go!” Catholic Theological Union, the pope’s graduate alma mater, handed out Pope Leo baseball cards, and the Augustinians, the religious order Prevost once headed, drew a long line for free swag. Several life-sized cardboard cutouts provided photo ops with Leo’s likeness.
White Sox Senior Vice President Brooks Boyer issued Leo an open invitation to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at the Sox’s home field, where then-“Father Bob” attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. That visit has now been memorialized with a mural near Seat 2 of Section 140, where the future pontiff helped cheer his team to a win that led to their third World Series title.
In his video message, the pope encouraged young people to find community in the church and to spread hope through service to others, saying they “are the promise of hope for so many of us.”
Quoting St. Augustine, he recognized that many live with questions and restlessness in their hearts. “That restlessness is not a bad thing, and we shouldn’t look for ways to put out the fire, to eliminate or even numb ourselves to the tensions that we feel, the difficulties that we experience,” he said. “We should rather get in touch with our own hearts and recognise that God can work in our lives, through our lives, and through us reach out to other people.”
Leo also acknowledged that the light on the horizon may be difficult for some to see. “And yet, as we grow in our unity, as we come together in communion, we can discover that that light will grow brighter and brighter, that light which is indeed our faith in Jesus Christ. And we can become that message of hope, to promote peace and unity throughout our world.”
In a homily he jokingly referred to as his “sermon on the mound,” Cardinal Cupich addressed the issue of immigration, urging an interconnectedness that is essential to authentic Christian living.
“Sadly, we too often hear voices attempting to define a portion of humanity as other or unconnected,” he said. “Humanity is diminished whenever the unborn or the undocumented, the unemployed or the unhealthy, are excluded, uninvited or unwelcome, or whenever we tell ourselves they are of no concern to us.”
Cupich granted that countries have a right and duty to secure their borders and enact “reasonable rules for immigration.” He added: “At the same time, it is wrong to scapegoat those who are here without documents, for indeed they are here due to a broken immigration system which both parties have failed to fix.”
Language or actions that demonize the others are not only un-Christian but dishonest, the cardinal said. “For indeed, so many of the undocumented have for decades been connected to us. They are here not by invasion but by invitation, to harvest the fruits of the earth that feed our families, to clean our tables, homes and hotel rooms, to landscape our lawns, and yes even to care for our children and elderly.”
Although Pope Leo has not yet spoken specifically about U.S. immigration policy, his previous social media account featured several reposts of articles critical of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and action. The first U.S. bishop appointed by Leo, San Diego Bishop-elect Michael Pham, himself a refugee from Vietnam, recently suggested priests “stand in solidarity” with immigrants making court appearances.
Augustinian Father John Merkelis, who was a high school classmate of Pope Leo’s, told the crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field that Prevost was always “one of the smartest men in the room,” but also “a regular guy” who taught him how to drive a manual transmission car.
“He’s a bridge-builder. He’s deliberate. He’s thoughtful. He will listen to all sides, but he will make up his own mind. He will be clear, but he’ll be very pastoral,” Merkelis said. “He’s just a down-to-earth guy who’s very smart, very prayerful. And I believe he will bring those same qualities to all the issues he faces.”
Leo was a “good student,” recalled Sister of St. Agnes Dianne Bergant, who taught Prevost at Catholic Theological Union while he studied there from 1978 to 1982. “He looks at things through the point of view of the Second Vatican Council: It’s not their church; it’s our church. But that also means our responsibility to make the church alive in our time,” she said. “That’s the kind of theology we taught. But his vitae, his resume, shows that that’s the kind of minister he was. So you can draw the conclusion that that’s the kind of pope he will be.”
On the ballpark concourse, those attending the celebration were proud and optimistic about the new pope.
Irene Islas of Chicago was wearing a Sox jersey and “I (heart) Pope Leo” button. “We’re very excited to have a new American pope who is a White Sox fan,” she said. “We want to see how things are going to change. We do miss Pope Francis, but I think [Leo’s] going to do good.”
Patrick Mason had traveled with his sons from Independence, Kentucky to see the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. At this ball field, though, they were excited about the prospect of thousands of Catholics singing together. How did they get tickets at the last minute? “Ticketmaster––and divine intervention!” he said.
Courtney Beatty’s parents were putting aside the differences in their “mixed marriage”: Gregory is a Sox fan; Karen cheers for the Cubs. She was even wearing a Sox jersey, which she had also donned on her wedding day 27 years ago.
“It’s nice we all come together as a family and celebrate our faith,” she said. “I hope this draws a lot of attention to our community and our world, and how we can come together.”
Image credit: Heidi Schlumpf
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