Pope Leo Xiv Shares Message Of Hope At White Sox Stadium Celebration

The Archdiocese of Chicago celebrated Pope Leo XIV connected Saturday, June 14, astatine nan location of nan White Sox. The first American pope shared a video connection connected nan jumbotron. 

“So galore group who suffer from different experiences of slump aliases sadness — they tin observe that nan emotion of God is genuinely healing, that it brings hope,” Leo said.

The pontiff urged nan religious to service others and to make nan world a amended place. “As you stitchery coming successful this awesome celebration, I want to some definitive my gratitude to you, and besides an encouragement to proceed to build up community, relationship arsenic brothers and sisters successful your regular lives, successful your families, successful your parishes, successful nan Archdiocese, and passim our world,” nan pope said. “When I spot each and each 1 of you, erstwhile I spot really group stitchery together to observe their faith, I observe myself really overmuch dream location is successful nan world successful this jubilee twelvemonth of hope.”

Saturday’s programme was emceed by Chicago Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky. ABC News said nan arena included euphony by nan city’s Leo Catholic High School Choir and a musician from Peru. There was besides a chat featuring 1 of nan pope’s erstwhile teachers, arsenic good arsenic a precocious schoolhouse classmate and chap Augustinian.

The arena was organized by nan Archdiocese successful grant of Leo’s predetermination to nan papacy. The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary was raised successful southbound suburban Chicago and earned his master’s successful divinity from Chicago Theological Union. He is besides an avid White Sox fan. 

Saturday’s arena included a special invitation from nan squad for Leo to propulsion retired a ceremonial first transportation astatine a early White Sox game.

Following his clip successful Chicago, Pope Leo became a missionary, spending overmuch of his profession successful Peru arsenic a minister. He was besides nan prefect of nan Vatican’s Dicastery of Bishops, starting successful 2023 nether Pope Francis. He was past promoted to cardinal-bishop successful February by nan erstwhile pope.