{"id":108363,"date":"2025-06-16T15:56:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T15:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/108363\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T15:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T15:56:15","slug":"thousands-fill-white-sox-stadium-for-special-mass-celebrating-chicago-born-pope-leo-xiv-photo-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/108363\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands fill White Sox stadium for special Mass celebrating Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV: Photo gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>People gather ahead of a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American-born pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)
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CHICAGO \u2014 Under a bright sun, around an altar set up at centerfield, more than a dozen priests and bishops led by Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich concelebrated a special Mass for the election of a first-ever Chicago-born pope. Trinity Sunday\u2019s vigil Mass June 14 was at Rate Field, the home park of the Chicago White Sox, Pope Leo XIV\u2019s favorite baseball team.<\/a><\/p>\n

Concelebrants included the Archdiocese of Chicago\u2019s auxiliary bishops as well as bishops from surrounding dioceses, several Augustinian priests, the incoming president of Chicago\u2019s Catholic Theological Union and other clergy. The liturgy included multilingual readings and prayers of the faithful, with the psalm sung in Spanish and English.<\/p>\n

From the ambo, Cardinal Cupich looked around the stadium nearly filled with tens of thousands of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow. I think I will remember this moment as \u2018the sermon on the mound,’\u201d he said in a tongue-in-cheek reference to Jesus\u2019 famous Sermon on the Mount recounted in Matthew 5-7.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Cupich then preached a homily on people\u2019s inherent dignity, inviting the faithful to \u201clive authentically\u201d and taking a forceful stand against the country\u2019s immigration policy.<\/p>\n

The cardinal reminded those present and watching via livestream that their worth comes from the fact that they are loved by God, that they are called to a life of self-giving service, and that life is to be lived not in isolation but through an interconnectedness with others, mirroring the relationship between the three persons of the Holy Trinity.<\/p>\n

In emphasizing people\u2019s interconnection, he said, \u201cHumanity is greatly diminished whenever the unborn or the undocumented, the unemployed, the unhealthy, are excluded, uninvited, and unwelcome or whenever we tell ourselves that they are of no concern to us.\u201d The comment received widespread applause.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging nations\u2019 duties to secure their borders, protect the public \u201cand enact reasonable rules for immigration,\u201d Cardinal Cupich said, \u201cit is wrong to scapegoat those who are here without documents. For indeed, they are here due to a broken immigration system\u201d to sustained clapping.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth parties have failed to fix\u201d that system, he admonished.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The undocumented) are here, not by invasion, but by invitation,\u201d he said as the applause and cheers became louder.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It\u2019s) an invitation to harvest the fruits of the earth and feed our families, an invitation to clean our tables, homes and hotel rooms, an invitation to landscape our lawns, and yes, even an invitation to care for our children and our elderly. I have no doubt that if we are honest about our connections to one another, we can respond to this moment and thus reclaim our calling to live as authentic persons in the image of the divine persons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV<\/a>, a dual citizen of both the United States and Peru, spent nearly 20 years on mission in Peru, where he taught seminarians and practiced canon law, and later led the Diocese of Chiclayo along the country\u2019s impoverished northwestern coast.<\/p>\n

The Mass was preceded by a video message from Pope Leo XIV addressed mainly to young people, instructing them to look deep within their hearts and recognize that God is calling them to a relationship with his son Jesus Christ, and to be the \u201clight of hope to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the video, the pope referred to one of St. Augustine\u2019s famous phrases, \u201cOur hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God,’\u201d and, he added, \u201cthat restlessness is not a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t 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. We should rather get in touch with our own hearts and recognize that God can work in our lives, through our lives, and through us, reach out to other people,\u201d Pope Leo said.<\/p>\n

The pope stressed that God\u2019s love is a source of hope and strength, which is a message young people can proliferate, he said.<\/p>\n

Among the attendees was Matthew Agoncillo, a student at the University of Illinois in Chicago who volunteered with its Newman Center during the distribution of the Eucharist at the Mass. He said he felt challenged by Pope Leo\u2019s message.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s sometimes hard to conceptualize what that means,\u201d Agoncillo, 20, told OSV News. \u201cFor me, being a light is just spreading the faith through an abundance of love through yourself and spreading that to other people, which will hopefully send more light to other people, and the whole world can be on fire with a bunch of joy. So I think it\u2019s important to share your light with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Moran, a recent University of Illinois in Chicago graduate, told OSV News that he enjoyed how the pope encouraged young people to dive deep in their faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know for me, growing up, I didn\u2019t really hear that that often,\u201d the 23-year-old said. \u201cHearing that from the pope and him \u2026 actually encouraging us as young people, like, \u2018Make this your own, Jesus loves you\u2019 \u2014 he wants you to take on the faith as your own, I thought that was very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pre-Mass program started with the national anthem of Peru sung by Luis Galvez, a native Peruvian and music director at a suburban Chicago parish. That was followed by the U.S. national anthem, sung by the choir of Leo High School, a Chicago Catholic boys school that is a contender in this season\u2019s America\u2019s Got Talent.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Mass, Pope Leo\u2019s longtime friend and high school classmate, Augustinian Father John Merkelis, talked about the pope\u2019s humble, \u201cregular guy\u201d character. His former professor at Catholic Theological Union, Sister Dianne Bergant, a member of the Sisters St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, said she kept all her records from 45 years of teaching and he was a good student.<\/p>\n

In the minutes before the program began, Cardinal Cupich<\/a> brought to the stage a group of first through fourth grade students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy on Chicago\u2019s Northside, who were dressed as cardinals, with one in papal attire. The students had held a mock conclave,<\/a> complete with billowing white smoke, which drew international attention when they elected their own pretend pope May 6, a day before the real conclave started. The newly-elected mock pope took the name Augustine.<\/p>\n

The June 14 celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox was organized by the Archdiocese of Chicago. Chicago Catholic, the archdiocese\u2019s news outlet, reported that, days after the conclave, Cardinal Cupich was dining with donors who happened to know the owner of the White Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf, when the cardinal\u2019s staff brought up the idea for a celebration and Mass. The donors reportedly talked to Reinsdorf, which set plans for the event in motion.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Esposito of Oak Park, a suburb west of Chicago, said she was happy to attend the June 14 event in honor of Chicago\u2019s native son.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still settling in that we have an American pope, let alone a pope from Chicago who sat in this stadium,\u201d she told OSV News. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s just crazy, but I\u2019m so glad I did (attend). That was one of the most beautiful experiences, just to have all these people together and just the way they celebrated all the different cultures, I thought was fantastic. And I loved his (the pope\u2019s) message. I hope it resonates with young people, and I hope he\u2019s going to be a good beacon for our church.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tAfter the Mass and celebration of the first Chicago native\u2019s election to the papacy, the faithful pose with Pope Leo XIV cutouts stationed throughout the concession areas of Rate Field, the home park of the Chicago White Sox, Pope Leo\u2019s favorite team. Chicago, June 14, 2025. (OSV News photo\/Simone Orendain)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tPeople sing and play music ahead of a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tRead The Dialog. Sign up for the FREE Angelus newsletter at thedialog.org\/newsletter<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tChicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich delivers the homily as he celebrates a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Simone Orendain)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tChicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich arrives to celebrate a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tClergymen arrive to distribute Communion during a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American-born pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tNuns arrive ahead of a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American-born pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tA student who participated in a mock conclave at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, looks on ahead of a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\tPeople gather ahead of a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The Chicago-born pontiff, elected May 8, is the first American-born pope in history. (OSV News photo\/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People gather ahead of a June 14, 2025, Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[13522,5,24189,138,49,2561,4,6531,8567,396,2562],"class_list":{"0":"post-108363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-archdiocese-of-chicago","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-cardinal-blase-j-cupich","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-white-sox","13":"tag-chicagowhitesox","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","16":"tag-rate-field","17":"tag-white-sox","18":"tag-whitesox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114693864503109233","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}