On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV got a jersey.
What are you going to tell me next, he’s Catholic?
Seemingly every week, someone brings the first American-born pontiff a jersey as a way to connect with His Holiness. A couple of weeks ago, broadcaster Chuck Swirsky gave him a personalized Chicago Bulls jersey. Then, Spike Lee delivered a New York Knicks one. The Pope Cave is going to run out of room on its walls.
But this time it was a little different. For one, the pope got a Chicago White Sox jersey inscribed with autographs from the 2005 World Series team. More importantly, he got it from the next owner of the franchise, Justin Ishbia.
Check that. When Ishbia takes over for chairman Jerry Reinsdorf sometime down the road, he doesn’t want to be called an “owner” at all. He likes the term “steward.”
“Jerry’s the current steward. I’m the next steward,” he said in a conversation from Rome.
The wording is important to him as he thinks about what kind of owner, er, steward he wants to be.
“You’ll never hear me say the word ‘owner’ of the franchise,” he said. “I’m the steward of a community asset. This asset, this team, this franchise belongs to the city of Chicago, and I am a temporary steward. There’ll be somebody after me who will have an opportunity to create memories for our fans in the city of Chicago.”
In February, The Athletic broke the story that Ishbia was increasing his little-known minority stake in the team, with an eye toward taking over the franchise. In June, he reached a deal with Reinsdorf that could hand over control of the team to the Chicago billionaire by 2029.
Beyond a statement when the deal went through, Ishbia hasn’t spoken to the media about it.
When we spoke Wednesday morning, Ishbia was still buzzing from his meeting with the pope, who, of course, has overtaken former President Barack Obama as the world’s most famous White Sox fan.
Pope Leo was born Robert Prevost and grew up in Dolton, Ill. He was famously caught on camera during Game 2 of the 2005 World Series, and Chicago won’t stop talking about him. There are bootleg T-shirts everywhere, and Rate Field even held a mass in his honor.
Ishbia said he didn’t feel like he was meeting one of the most important people in the world; rather, just a Sox fan named Bob.
“It kind of felt … like two guys talking baseball,” Ishbia said. “So, it was really cool.”
Though Pope Leo didn’t ask any detailed questions about Hagen Smith’s Arizona Fall League run or the pop in Colson Montgomery’s bat, he did listen as Ishbia outlined his vision as a community leader, which includes a shining new baseball stadium he’d love for the pope to visit.
“We spoke about Chicago as an international beacon,” Ishbia said. “In my mind, it’s a sea of hope, opportunity and community, and I wanted to share a vision for a new White Sox ballpark, a place that I think, you know, will create joy for families and kids, for Chicagoans and visitors alike. As part of the conversation, I extended an invitation for him to visit Chicago and throw out the first pitch on an opening day, when the ballpark comes to fruition.”
Ishbia said the pope was receptive to the invitation. But Opening Day with the pope throwing out the first pitch? You’d better get in line now to get through security.
And, wait a second. Is Ishbia working behind the scenes to get the Sox a new stadium? This has been a hot topic for years, from Reinsdorf’s flirting with Nashville to trying to stake his claim to “The 78” plot of land south of Roosevelt. No one in the state has been receptive to Reinsdorf’s asking for more public money for another stadium. But Ishbia, a billionaire with a fresh reputation in the city, could make this happen, right?
“Jerry’s the chairman, Jerry has 100 percent control of what happens with the White Sox,” Ishbia said. “And so, anything about the stadium, you should ask Jerry. But I’ll say this: I’m 48, right? And the White Sox lease is up in four years (after the 2029 season). I can’t tell you exactly when, but in my lifetime, we’re definitely building a new stadium. Whether it’s four years from now or 34 years from now, I can’t tell you when exactly this moment, but we will build a new stadium while I am the steward of the franchise.”
And yes, it will be in Chicago. At least when Ishbia is in charge.
“I love Chicago,” he said. “Put it this way: If I wanted to have a team that was not in my hometown, I probably should have (bought) the Twins, right? If I wanted to commute, I could’ve just commuted to Minnesota.”
He could have tried to get the pope to broker a tax deal with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was also at the Vatican, but there’s plenty of time to work out the details.
It was an honor for MK and me to meet with @Pontifex – a son of Illinois – to express the pride and reverence of the people of this great state. Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity, and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions. pic.twitter.com/C4Y5NYtKxD
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) November 19, 2025
Though he has big dreams for the future, as for his current role with the Sox, Ishbia described himself as a “passive shareholder.” He joked that he has as much say as me, the humble sports writer.
“Zero to do with anything,” he said. “Jerry’s the chairman, and I have zero to do with it. I am a baseball fan like you are. I love baseball, and I go to lots of baseball games. I have zero operational role for the Sox.”
I guess Ishbia won’t be smoking cigars with Reinsdorf in the Winter Meetings lobby or hosting a panel at SoxFest Live anytime soon.
“I’m learning, and I’m watching, and I’m trying to get a pulse of what Chicago and the White Sox are all about,” he said, “so I can be prepared when I am the steward to put us in the best position to have long-term success.”
Of course, it’s not always that easy. Ishbia has gotten a front-row seat to witness the trials and tribulations of owning a sports franchise through his brother, Mat, who is the governor (the NBA’s term for owner) of the Phoenix Suns. (Justin is an alternate governor for the team.) But for the last few years, Justin has been purposeful about preparing to run a baseball team.
“I have met with, except for one, every Major League Baseball owner,” he said, declining to name the lone holdout. “Before I was fortunate enough to have this deal with Jerry come together, one of my goals — and I’m a goals nerd — in calendar year ’23 and calendar year ’24 was to, either in person or via Zoom, meet with every Major League Baseball owner just so I could learn and get to know them a little bit over a period of time. And so, I accomplished that goal, except for one. Yeah, I’m in listening mode.”
Many of those people haven’t exactly endeared themselves to their own fan bases, the current steward of the White Sox included. Ishbia, though, is very clear: He’s a baseball fan, and he understands what the fans want: someone who cares.
“My dad and I have gone to opening day at the Detroit Tigers (every year),” he said. “Him and I have gone to every Major League Baseball stadium. I go to dozens and dozens of games per year. I grew up playing baseball. I played for a long time. I watched every game of the World Series. I’m a baseball guy. I love baseball. That’s my cord, I hope, to fans of Chicago. One day, when I’m in the role of leadership and stewardship, they will see my passion for the game. That’s my job to communicate that.”
And so Ishbia started that charm offensive with the most famous Sox fan of all. He came bearing a gift.
“I presented (Pope Leo) with a 2005 championship jersey, which to me is a symbol of teamwork and perseverance, signed by that team, all the players,” Ishbia said. “I asked him to pray for our city, and I asked him to hopefully, through peace and strength, bring our city of Chicago together. The pope has talked about bringing people together, and I think a ballclub, a baseball franchise, has the opportunity to do that in the city.”
Though Pope Leo has gotten a Sox hat and a Chicago Cubs jersey, along with the Bulls one, and had previously signed a Sox jersey that was presented to Paul Konerko during the 20th reunion weekend in Chicago, Ishbia was told by Brian Burch, the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (a Chicago guy himself, who brokered the meeting), that this was the first Sox jersey the pontiff had publicly received.
Ishbia said he was told he and his wife could pose with the pope and the jersey, but he couldn’t actually hand it to him. He was supposed to put it in a box after the picture.
“And as I started to do that, he said, ‘No, no, no. Hold on — that stays with me,’” Ishbia said.
It’s probably going to be a while until Ishbia takes over the Sox, but it’s never too early to endear yourself to the fans, whether they live in Dolton or Vatican City.