Pope Leo delivers his pitch at White Sox park in Chicago
"That restlessness you feel in your hearts, we shouldn't look for ways to put out the fire, to numb ourselves to the difficulties we feel, we should get in touch with our hearts and realize that God can work through it," said Leo, speaking in a pre-recorded message to people gathered at the sunny ballpark. "That light on the horizon is not easy to see and yet as we come together we discover that light is growing brighter and brighter."
The special message from Leo was part of a program at the home of the pope's beloved ball team that included words from people who knew him as Robert Francis Prevost, fourth graders who participated in a viral mock conclave and performances by a Chicago Catholic high school choir that was recently on America's Got Talent.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to invite each one of you to look into your hearts," Leo said. "God is present and in many ways He's calling you to look into your heart, to discover how important it is for each one of us to pay attention to God in our hearts, to that longing for love we may feel."
Chicago-area Cardinal Blase Cupich celebrated Mass and Chicago Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky emceed the event.
Among attendees were nuns from Chicago-area convents who had never been to the stadium and Saturday found themselves seated in the infield, Sox fans returning to their regular stomping grounds and Chicago Cubs fans who were convinced to cross enemy lines at last.
Leo is a noted Sox fan. He was recently spotted wearing the team's ball cap and was seen in archival footage at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The ball club honored the moment with a mural at Section 140 where Leo was seen standing to rally the team in the team's pinstripes.
Alderwoman Nicole Lee of the city's 11th Ward, which includes the stadium, attended in a retro Sox shirt.
"What a great way to bring people together in a time when we need people to come together," said Lee, noting the No Kings protests happening just a few miles north of Sox park and around the country. "It's not that normal that we're here like this and I love that that's what we're doing right now. We could all use a dose of energy and a word of encouragement about what it'll take for the world to get on a better path."
Da Pope-mania
Many showed up at the event on Saturday wearing the "Da Pope" paraphernalia that's popped up in stores and streetside stands around the city in the wake of Leo's election at the conclave on May 8.
Silvia Campos and Miguel Angel Vazquez, South Side residents and regular Sox game goers, wore White Sox-styled pope shirts they picked up at a recent game. The jerseys include the number 14 on the back.
"It's a way to get closer to him," said Vazquez. "We wouldn't be able to get to Rome so for us this is the closest possible for now."
The White Sox could not be immediately reached about whether they will retire the number 14. Paul Konerko, who wore the number 14 and whom Leo rooted for at the 2005 World Series, already has his name up at the stadium.
Among the other paraphernalia were jerseys outfitted with the keys of the Vatican and Leo's name set against Chicago's iconic skyline. Grace and Janice Carpenter wore a pair of visors they had outfitted to look like a bishop's mitre hat.
Fernando Flores, a shirt vendor outside the stadium, said his outfit had sold 10,000 shirts in the weeks since Leo's election.
"I would compare it to a championship overnight," said Flores, 45. "It's a phenomenon where everyone wants a piece of it."
Shirts sell for $25. Pope Leo baseball cards from Topps were for sale outside the stadium for $20. Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIII cards were also for sale.
Prayers for peace
The event celebrating Leo convinced even die hard Cubs fans to head to the South Side park.
"I'm in enemy territory here, where do I go," Raul Gomez asked staff outside the stadium. The 36-year-old North Side resident said it was his first time back at the stadium in 10 years.
"A whole stadium filled with Catholics, Pope Leo the first American pope, from Chicago, I needed to be a part of that," he said. "That lineage from Peter somehow goes through Chicago, how amazing is that."
Gomez was satisfied with how the first-place Cubs are doing but hopes Leo lends a hand to other Chicago teams.
"I'm hoping Leo does some kind of prayer for the Bears because they're deep in the hole," he said.
Friendly divisions between the North and the South sides were just part of what many hoped Leo will bridge.
"As a Latina, it's very meaningful to see somebody as pope who understands the reality of Latin America, of the poor," said Teresa Montes-Lara, a Dominican nun originally from Mexico. "I hope he challenges us in our faith and I want to hear something about migrants, about the radical obligation the church has."
Cupich raised the issue in his homily at the Mass. "It is wrong to scapegoat people without documents, for indeed they are here due to a broken immigration system," he said. "They are here not by invasion but by invitation."
Others hoped for more personal intercession.
Dr. Joy Henningsen said she flew in from Nashville for the event. The radiologist said she lived in the Chicago area until 2020. Her family was devoted to Pope John Paul II and attributes a miracle to the pope that led a doctor to discover a piece of glass near her father's heart when he was having heart trouble.
"I believe in the power of healing via the Holy Father so I'm here asking for healing and peace in the world," said Henningsen. "I would not miss this for the world."
Mound is waiting
Among official speakers were those who knew Leo back in Chicago.
Father John Merkelis, who belongs to the same Augustinian order as Leo and was his high school classmate, said he was emailing Leo in the days leading up to the conclave.
"He said he's sleeping well because an American is not going to be pope," said Merkelis. Days later, the priests said he was at an Augustinian house shouting "that's Prevost, that's Prevost" when Leo was announced.
The Augustinian said Leo's a guy who can change a car's oil and is an excellent Wordle player. But he remembers him best as the man who waited past midnight to share his condolences when Merkelis got home after his dad died.
"He was there waiting on the stairs," he said. "He's a sensitive, sensitive man."
Dianne Bergant, a former teacher, said she remembered him as an excellent student but she also took the moment to celebrate the Chicago community that raised him. "It says something about the education he got," she said.
Many at the stadium hoped the event was a pre-season for Leo in person.
Brooks Boyer, a White Sox executive, said that the "mound is waiting" for Leo.
"Your holiness, you've always been one of us, you wear the Sox cap like it was made for you, on behalf of White Sox fans, we'd be happy to welcome you back for a first pitch," Boyer said. "We'll send a ball to the Vatican so your arm is prepared."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
James Maddison and girlfriend Kennedy Alexa announce they're expecting twins AGAIN in wholesome video
JAMES MADDISON and his long-time girlfriend Kennedy Alexa have heartwarmingly revealed they're expecting a second set of twins. The couple started dating in 2020 and welcomed their first child, son Leo, into the world the following year. 5 5 5 England international Maddison and his model other half ha d twins - Delilah and Rome - just days after the midfielder joined Tottenham in the summer of 2023. And they've remarkably conceived a second set of twins, the odds of which are a massive ONE IN 50,000. They revealed they're expecting again in a touching holiday montage video on both their Instagram accounts. In the video, Alexa, 30, proudly showed off her bump, which her little ones adorably kissed, as she dipped her toes into the sea. The video ended with Maddison, 28, writing "twins again" and "Maddison twins part 2" in the sand. Their joint caption read: "Beyond blessed! Bring on the chaos." The couple were showered with well-wishes seconds after sharing the video. One of their followers wrote: "I'M CRYING!!!!! KENNEDY!!! Congratulations!!!!!!! You look like an angel. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 5 5 "Ahhhh, omg literal tears so happy for you and your beautiful family." Another said: "Maddison X5 LOVE LOVE LOVE, congratulations both!!" And another said: "OMG INCREDIBLE. Congratulations!!!!! Xxx" One remarked: "So excited!! The chaos will be worth it." Another chimed in: Maddison's 5-a-side invitational." Several of Maddison's club and international team-mates chimed in, including Jude Bellingham, who wrote: "Congratulations."
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Rafael Devers trade winners and lsoers: Giants steal Red Sox star
A look at the winners and losers from perhaps the biggest, earliest trade since Mike Piazza was shipped off from the Los Angeles Dodgers in May 1998: Winners San Francisco Giants Oh, what winners. The Giants have been rebuffed in both trade and free agent negotiations over the past decade by (deep breath) Jon Lester, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Carlos Correa's right fibula and who knows how many more we may not know about. Now, they don't have to worry about being used as stalking horses come next winter. Devers is under contract for eight more seasons and $238.5 million, plus the roughly $15 million owed for the remainder this year and a $2 million reassignment bonus. If you asked the Giants if they could acquire, for eight-plus years and about $250 million, a two-time Silver Slugger who averaged 32 home runs and an .873 OPS the past four seasons, has one of the best left-handed swings in the game and is just 28 years old, how soon would they say yes? Sure, the Giants gave up young lefty Kyle Harrison, scuffling veteran Jordan Hicks, who has struggled to toggle between rotation and relief in recent years, and 2024 first-round pick James Tibbs, who has an .857 OPS at high-A yet at 22 isn't exactly young for that circuit. All those elements are replaceable. Luring an elite bat to San Francisco has proven almost impossible. And one just fell into the Giants' lap. Buster Posey It was an eye-opener when he elevated himself, with ownership's blessing, to the No. 1 baseball job just four years removed from the playing field. Sure, he's a smart and passionate baseball man, but how would this executive onboarding go? Well, Posey proved he's not afraid to roll the dice and burn a wad of ownership's money. The Giants have gone from dark horse to legit contender this year, their 41-30 record a mix of Farhan Zaidi holdovers, Posey tweaks and, perhaps, the greater sense of clarity and purpose that can come with a future Hall of Famer pushing the buttons. Posey just solved for their "missing superstar slugger" problem. He also bought a ton of goodwill from San Francisco fans who already idolized him and would be ready to deify him if he gets the squad back to the World Series. Willy Adames It's been a struggle going from Milwaukee's hitter-friendlier park to San Francisco, where fly balls are gobbled up in the marine layer. A .202 average and 81 adjusted OPS were tough bags to carry with a recently signed $182 million contract. Well, all of a sudden, Adames is no longer the highest-paid nor riskiest Giant acquisition. Additionally, sliding between Devers and, presumably, a healthy Matt Chapman in the lineup will take off a lot of heat and enhance the quality of pitches he'll see. Alex Bregman The man who started all this is probably going to get a whole lot richer. Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million deal with a pair of opt-outs, creating the logjam that resulted in Devers' bruised feelings, the Red Sox's fumbling of the situation and the ultimate trade of Devers to the Giants. And since joining Boston, he has made Fenway Park his playground, with 11 homers, a .938 OPS and 3.0 WAR in just 51 games, though a quad injury will keep him out until roughly the end of this month. Now, imagine the ire in Boston if the Red Sox both trade Devers and fail to retain Bregman? The Red Sox just opened up a bunch of cash to bestow on Bregman - and also created greater need to keep him. Ka-ching! Rafael Devers So maybe it was never going to work out after the spring training flap about moving to DH, and the in-season flap about moving to first base in the wake of Triston Casas's season-ending injury. Yet after a slow start, Devers has done nothing but mash for the Red Sox, with 15 homers, a .905 OPS and a nice parting gift: A home run off Max Fried to ensure the Red Sox's 2-0 win and sweep of the Yankees. Now, he gets a chance to hit the refresh button and begin a new relationship with a different regime. The Red Sox did not worry about hurting Devers' feelings in spring, when manager Alex Cora noted that Devers' $313.5 million was signed under a different general manager. He faces an odd situation in San Francisco: The great Matt Chapman will be out until around the All-Star break with a hand injury, leaving third base vacant. The club just cut loose first baseman LaMonte Wade, with a long-term vacancy still looming there. Would Devers consider bouncing from third base back to DH, or try learning a new position at first base, with a new club? The Red Sox would certainly smirk themselves to death if he did so, but this is a fresh start. The ball is in his court. Losers Boston Red Sox Elite hitters simply aren't easy to replace. In a cynical sense, the Red Sox harvested what they needed out of Devers: Signed him out of the Dominican Republic at 16, won a World Series with him five years later, retained him with a nine-figure deal after the embarrassment of the Mookie Betts trade and then moved on. But no matter how many highly-rated hitting prospects you hoard, there's simply no substitute for a grown-ass slugger who hits 30 home runs falling out of bed, and up to 38 in a career year. Boston will bear the non-linear growing pains of its new core over the next few years and, like Betts, may be cursed with trying in vain to replace Raffy in coming years. Craig Breslow To be sure, the second-year president of baseball operations will have to own this one - just like his predecessor, Chaim Bloom, will forever be The Man Who Traded Mookie. The stealth attack nature of this deal - literally the entire industry was blindsided until just a few minutes before 7 p.m. ET Sunday - means Breslow pulled it off in silence, but also didn't get an overwhelming return to rid the Red Sox of Devers and his contract. There's a decent chance the Red Sox traded a cornerstone for a swingman lefty (Harrison), a flamethrowing reliever (Hicks) and a pair of minor-league lottery tickets. From a return standpoint, Tibbs is probably the key: He has an .857 OPS and just 45 strikeouts at high-A, but turns 23 in October and has several hurdles before bringing his lefty bat to Fenway. In a year or two, there will be a better overall read of Breslow's tenure. Should the guys acquired in the deal fail to pop, and the Sox scuffle in Devers' absence, the tote board won't look so great for Breslow. That great young Red Sox core would be a credit to his predecessor, Bloom, while the Breslow regime will be known as the group that couldn't coexist with a superstar, despite their highly-publicized sortie to Kansas City to try and talk Devers into playing first. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell Ah, yes, that great young core. This is exactly what they didn't need as all three embark on what should be fantastic careers. All are now with the big club and displaying the bouts of brilliance and frustration that come with oh-so-young careers. Anthony, the game's greatest hitting prospect, was 1-for-17 in his first week, the one hit being a game-winning double. Mayer, the fantastic infielder, has a two-homer game but also a 31.5% strikeout rate in 54 plate appearances. Campbell, signed to an eight-year, $60 million deal in his first week in the majors, looked like an All-Star for the first month but has a .157/.239/.223 line in his last 134 plate appearances. Hey, all of that is just fine. The kids will develop in time, and will need some onramp to realize their best versions of themselves. But you know what they didn't need? A lineup anchor dealt away just as the club was getting hot, turning the glare of the fan base to this young trio that's expected to be the future and, increasingly, the present. They'll surely be what they'll be, and in all three cases, that may very well be greatness. But a challenging major league assimilation just got a lot tougher.
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
MLB Father's Day: Love of baseball tops genetics
It's both the most obvious and yet oversimplified evaluation a baseball scout can make - a recognizable name leaping off the page, a player profile to dream on based on how far their father made it in the game. And ostensibly, the Holliday family justifies those dreams: For the second time in four years, a Holliday lad will be picked at or near the very top of Major League Baseball's draft when Ethan is selected somewhere in the first five or so picks at the July 13 selection party. Jackson, still just 21, is in his second year as a Baltimore Oriole and perhaps already on his way to his first All-Star Game. Ethan, while having to conquer several levels of minor league ball to join his older brother in a major league middle infield, could be a bigger and more powerful version of Jackson. Both are carrying the legacy of their father Matt, a seven-time All-Star, a batting champion, a World Series winner who slugged 316 home runs over 15 years in the major leagues. Genes to dream on, for certain. Yet the story of baseball bloodlines will forever be a classic nature vs. nurture equation, and despite inherent advantages of growing up Holliday or Clemens or Bellinger, countless environmental factors will determine if the child's most important adult acronym, say, is OPS or CPA. "It's nice to have the genes - my dad's a big guy and played baseball a long time," says Holliday, on pace for a 20-homer, 20-steal season in his first full season in the majors. "But I don't look like him and I just have the last name and he happens to be my dad. "I think a lot of it has to do with growing up in the game and watching someone you want to be like, and that's what they do. So, that's essentially what me and my brothers wanted to do." Indeed, the Holliday patriarch is built like an NFL linebacker - at 6-4, 240 pounds, he had both speed and power and at 45 still cuts an imposing figure when he's around a major league batting cage. While Holliday was a slugging left fielder, his eldest sons are cut from a different template: Jackson is 6 feet and 185 pounds, while Ethan is already 6-4, about 200 pounds and projected to stick at shortstop long term. Not exactly daddy duplicates from a physical standpoint. "Yeah, it's nice having good genetics," says Kody Clemens, youngest son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, and a versatile reserve for the Minnesota Twins. "But the exposure is probably more important." The scientific community generally agrees. 'Biology is really good at mixing things up' It's been nearly a decade since Alejandro Lucia collaborated with renowned genomic professor Claude Bouchard - regarded as a godfather of genetics and exercise - on a 2016 study exploring the responses and adaptations of the body to exercise. Lucia, a professor and researcher at European University of Madrid, worked with human patients and animals and extensively explored how genetics influence the body. "We found, basically, nothing," says Lucia. That's not to say genetics don't affect body types. Lucia says there is an "undeniable genetic influence" that he pegs at around 50% that determines whether a person's phenotype is better suited toward respiratory fitness or muscular makeup. Humans, at their core, are endurance animals, he says. Yet what makes athletes great are almost exclusively influenced by environment, be it the preponderance of elite East African distance runners or, say, an elite travel baseball team from Texas. "Is it the genes you have inherited from your father? Or is it the influence, the atmosphere?" says Lucia. "In the case of sports performance, we're not talking about a single phenotype. It's the combination of many phenotypes. What makes you a good basketball player? Is it strength? Is it skill? Is it motivation? It's many different things. "It is probably the combination of too many factors. We tend to blame our genetics on too many things." Certainly, genetics play some role in getting a child into the game. Stephen M. Roth, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland, has studied genetics and elements of skeletal muscle and athletic performance for more than 20 years. Loosely, he pegs the chances of bestowing athletic genes on offspring at about 50%, though some factors have a higher likelihood of inheritance. Height, for instance, has closer to 80% inheritability. "Most of these traits are remarkably complex. It's not just a single gene that's contributing and you either have it or you don't," says Roth. "It's going to be a lot of different genes, all contributing and the likelihood that at least some of those are passed down is probably pretty good. But certainly not all of them, in the exact pattern that either parent has. "Biology is really good at mixing things up, and purposefully doing so." Roth says certain psychological factors - competitiveness, say - have about a 20-30% likelihood of inheritability. Yet it's almost impossible for genetics to outkick an athlete's surroundings. "When you see a given geographic group or set of families who are especially successful in a given sport, instead of thinking of genes I will think of the special environment of this particular geographic reason or this particular family" says Lucia. "The example, the inspiration they get from their parents. "I will never be a great baseball player. But maybe my genetic makeup is not that different from the best baseball player in the U.S." 'The Clay Stare' And sometimes the next generation quickly exceeds its predecessors. Cody Bellinger didn't need much time to push the label "son of ex-Yankee Cody Bellinger" into the background. He hit 20 home runs in his first 51 major league games, and doubled his father's career total of 12 in his first 57. No, Cody wasn't inheriting Babe Ruth's genetic profile. Yet growing up Bellinger - Clay was part of World Series-winning Yankees teams in 1999 and 2000 - was pivotal. "You're in the batting cage, you're picking up baseballs, you're going out to batting practice and you just fall in love with it," says Bellinger, who won the 2019 NL MVP award and has a .760 OPS this season for the Yankees. "Moreso than other kids who don't have that opportunity. A huge blessing. "I think just being around it, you just appreciate it and you love it and it's not forced. For me, I loved it." That's one trait that can't be underestimated. The pressure of following in a famous father's footsteps can be immense. With no ceiling on travel ball and many ballplayer families residing in warm-weather climes, the potential for burnout is immense. "It's almost like going into the family business. You have this, maybe stated, but unstated expectation that you could, or maybe should, be following in this person's footsteps," says Roth, the Maryland professor. "You have this unique opportunity to go into this particular business. I think the concern is, how many of these kids actually feel pressure to do it, but don't realize they may not want to do it? "They may be good at it, but is this how they want to spend their lives? That can be really hard to disentangle. We see that following in the family business, too, where someone says, 'No, actually, I don't want to be a butcher.'" The second-gen kids who made the big leagues tended to steer into it. Craig Biggio, the Hall of Fame second baseman for the Houston Astros, was already retired by the time his son Cavan was in high school. So the elder Biggio took the coaching reins at Houston's St. Thomas High School, giving Cavan a potential double-whammy: A legacy to look up to, and the stigma that can come by being The Coach's Son. Yet it turns out his teammates thought it was nifty having a coach who was two years from having a bust in Cooperstown. "Because everybody loved having him, having a Hall of Fame guy," says Cavan, who is in his seventh major league season. "It was a professional environment from a high school level, which was really rare and cool. "So when I eventually got to pro ball, it was already things I was doing from a young age." Not that Dad can't be hard on the kid. Clay Bellinger also coached some of Cody's teams, preaching lessons Cody relies upon to this day, and also saying so much by saying virtually nothing. "I was lucky enough that my dad was the coach," says Bellinger, drafted in the fourth round by the Dodgers in 2013, "but me and my friends had a little joke - if you didn't do something well, you'd get the 'Clay Stare.' "He'd stare at you and you'd feel it. That you did something wrong. That was always something that we joked around with and that stuck with me - play the game hard." 'This was going to be for me' Of course, having a ballplayer dad means having lots of famous uncles. Matt Holliday played long enough that Jackson can remember kibitzing in the clubhouse and on the field with the likes of Nolan Arenado and Aaron Judge. Biggio recalls catcher Brad Ausmus as a "funny, witty guy," and appreciates the respect he was afforded from Astros such as Morgan Ensberg, Lance Berkman and Willy Taveras. Josh Barfield, a four-year major leaguer and now the assistant general manager of the White Sox and son of Blue Jays legend Jesse Barfield, counted Rickey Henderson and Ken Griffey Jr. as de facto family members thanks to his father's longtime friendships with both. As little kids and adolescents, they didn't go through the grind. But they got an up-close view of what it took to survive it. "You watch the work every day - and go out and try to replicate what I watched for so long," says Jackson Holliday. Sometimes, it's the only life they know. "Kasey and I always talk about how we really didn't understand what there was in life besides being a baseball fan or baseball player," says Kody Clemens of his older brother. "Growing up, we knew we wanted to be the players. "When (Roger Clemens) was in New York and in the tail end of his career in Houston - that was when I realized how good he was, why these people were coming to the stadium, why we were going to the stadium. From 5 to 10 years old was when I realized what was going on." While some of the legacy ballplayers become elite - like Bellinger and Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - or are burgeoning stars like the Hollidays, others are determined to stick. Clemens has never played in more than 56 games since his 2022 debut and at 29 is enjoying his first taste of extended success with Minnesota, slugging six homers in 36 games after Philadelphia designated him for assignment in April. Biggio is currently at Class AAA with Kansas City, after making the club out of spring training; he's with his fourth organization in the past two seasons. It's plenty of time to ponder who makes it, who stays, and why. "I think athleticism has a ton to do with it, but everybody in pro ball is athletic, even college baseball," says Biggio. "I more credit being around it as a young kid. For me, it developed a passion and a love and a want for what this was going to be for me." Or, as Maryland's Roth puts it, "baseball is always in the environment. You have this almost constant presence. That's going to lead to expectations and opportunities for these kids." And the cycle rolls along. As Bellinger glances about the Yankees clubhouse, a pair of young boys, baseball gloves in hand, tail behind assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes, like ducklings following their mother to the pond. "There you go," he says as elementary-school aged Kash and Jett head out to the field, perhaps taking the tiniest steps toward draft day 2036. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news -- fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
