From Michael A. Airdo — Augustinian Affiliate
I had the extraordinary honor of joining our Prior Provincial, Fr. Thomas R. McCarthy, O.S.A., to present His Holiness Pope Leo XIV with gifts from the Chicago White Sox—including his very own White Sox mitre. It was the original that served as the model for the “Pope Hats” worn by 40,000 fans during an unforgettable night at Sox Park on August 11.
Pope Leo has written that sport is “a universal expression of our humanity” and “a universal human language of encounter and hope.” On August 11, Sox Park spoke that language beautifully: a ballpark became a community, thousands exchanged the Sign of Peace, and Chicago joyfully celebrated one of its own. The Pope had been excited by the night and only wished the Sox would have won game!
From the roar of the crowd in Chicago to the quiet grace of this moment in Rome, the mitre carried more than the memory of a remarkable night. It carried the faith, affection, and unmistakable spirit of Chicago’s South Side to one of its own—a reminder that, even as Pope Leo shepherds the universal Church, the South Side is never far from his heart.
God bless Pope Leo XIV! Go Sox!
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