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Chicago Tribune
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Divine revelations: Pope Leo XIV's attendance at 2005 World Series leaves champion White Sox with an immaculate legacy
In the moment, the man who will go on to become the most recognizable religious leader in the world looks nervous. He looks as though even his considerable faith can be tested by the whims of his favorite baseball team. As if, perhaps, he's offering a silent prayer for one more out. In the moment, Robert Prevost, the native South Sider destined to become first American-born pope, is at the mercy of fickle spirits with Old Testament tempers. The baseball gods can be cruel and smiting, especially in Chicago, and Prevost has to understand this as well as anyone. One day people will come to see where he sat, to have their pictures taken and to feel a connection to him and their faith. One day soon, on Saturday, the team he roots for, the Chicago White Sox, will host an outdoor Mass in his honor and in celebration of a moment they shared. But the pilgrimages and the Mass will come a long time after he stands, like tens of thousands around him stand, in the anxious delirium of the top of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. It is then when the television camera finds him, by chance or by fate. There are two outs and the White Sox, holding a 5-3 lead against the Houston Astros, have their hard-throwing 24-year-old closer, Bobby Jenks, on the mound. The energy in what was then called U.S. Cellular Field radiates through the broadcast. Joe Buck, narrating the play-by-play, reiterates that it's the first World Series game in Chicago since 1959 and, after a 95-mph fastball from Jenks, the Sox 'are two strikes away from a win here in 2005 in Game 1.' The noise increases and then it happens in a quick shot of the crowd. 'What are the odds?' someone asks many years later in the comment section under the video, after it becomes clear that Prevost, the Chicago-born priest and future Pope Leo XIV, is in the stands, dressed not in the black and white of clerical garb but that of a White Sox loyalist, in what looks to be a jersey under a coat. He's not too far above the home dugout, hoping — praying? — for one final out. The moment on TV lasts three seconds, maybe less, but when it reemerges almost 20 years later, not long after white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, it is reborn. It conjures questions of divinity. It symbolizes faith. It provides proof, the most ardent Catholics among White Sox supporters might attest, of the existence of a higher power. At the least it is celebrated, the sight of Prevost next to his friend Ed Schmit III and Schmit's son, Ed IV, then 5 years old. Prevost, 20 years before his election as pope, still young in the face, wears an antsy smile. He bows his head and then looks up, toward the scoreboard. Next to him, Schmit holds his boy in one arm and flashes two fingers, for two outs, with his free hand. Anticipation builds. Jenks wastes no time. Two more pitches result in two more strikes, the final one a 96-mph blur, and exactly 33 seconds after Prevost appears on screen, Game 1 is over. The crowd erupts. A rush of fireworks goes off over center field. Ozzie Guillén, then the 41-year-old White Sox manager, offers quick fist bumps in the dugout and embraces Jenks with a big smile. For almost 20 years, the final moments of that game remain a footnote in the larger story of the White Sox's four-game sweep. They're lost amid Jermaine Dye's steady hitting and Paul Konerko's seventh-inning grand slam in Game 2; almost forgotten around Chicago in the joy surrounding the Sox's third World Series championship, and first (and still only) since 1917. But then come the revelations: the white smoke in Vatican City, Prevost's election and transformation to Pope Leo XIV, an American city's pride in the ascension of one of their own. There are memes: 'Da Pope,' and Holy Communion with Vienna Chicago-style hot dogs and deep dish pizza; the new pope blessing everyone but cursing Green Bay. Mild sacrilege, arguably, but funny. And there are questions, including those about his baseball loyalties. There is, at first, something like a false prophecy — that the pontiff is a Cubs fan. Soon come the firm corrections, the now-viral photo and video from Game 1 of the '05 Series, and the proof of his allegiance. Pope Leo XIV's oldest brother is a Cubs fan, but the pope, himself, never wavered from his South Side roots. 'We used to give each other grief all the time,' Louis Prevost, 73, says of their childhood. 'And in those days, the Cubs were pretty sad … 'When I saw the picture (from the 2005 World Series), I was like, 'How the heck did he get into that?' But that was him at the game there. That was his thing. He liked to get out and go to a game once in a while. Eat a hot dog. Have some pizza. Like any other guy in Chicago on the South Side.' In the moment that night in October 2005, Robert Prevost indeed looks like any other guy from the South Side. That has become a big part of the allure. The night has taken on a sense of timelessness. Two decades later, people want to revisit it. Some are making pilgrimages to Rate Field, now home to one of the most hapless teams in baseball, to feel closer to Pope Leo XIV. 'How special,' Guillén says one evening in May, after the White Sox unveiled a mural in honor of Pope Leo XIV. Guillén is 61 now and sitting in a green room above home plate at Rate Field, where he works as an analyst on the Chicago Sports Network. He's dressed in his TV clothes and like a lot of people these days, the 2005 World Series has come to feel more spiritual for him, too. 'Like, this man was here,' Guillén says of the pope. 'That really hits you in the face. 'Like, what a moment.' The connection to Pope Leo XIV means more to Guillén because of his deep ties to the White Sox, as a player and manager, and because of his established roots in Chicago, his adopted hometown. But it goes beyond that, too, given his faith. Guillén grew up in a religious home in his native Venezuela and spent three years carrying the cross in a Catholic church, an altar boy with a talent for baseball. He says the church provided structure — the only things he did was 'play (baseball), go to school and be the altar boy' — and refuge. It wasn't uncommon, Guillén says, for his priest to give him money because Guillén grew up with little of it. Even as a boy, the future Major League shortstop knew that one day he'd name his first-born son after that priest. And indeed, Ozzie Guillén Jr.'s middle name is Eduardo, after 'Padre Eduardo' from his father's homeland. In the days after the election of Pope Leo XIV, the younger Guillén posed the question his father hadn't yet pondered: Did he ever think, growing up as an altar boy in Venezuela, that the pope would know who he was? Guillén laughed. 'I said, 'He don't know who I am,'' Guillén says. To which his son replied: 'Of course, he does. He was in there (for the World Series). You were the manager.' Guillén's wife is 'very, very Catholic,' he says, and years ago, during a visit to Rome, they had occasion to visit with Pope Francis. The Guilléns took pride in the first Latin American pope in history. When he died in April, Guillén says his wife cried. She spent weeks watching the news coverage, waiting to learn of Pope Francis' successor, only to find out it was a Chicago-born priest who rose through the church during his years in Peru. And not only that — but that he happened to be a White Sox fan who sat near the dugout in the 2005 World Series, cheering on her husband and his players. 'It should make it more special for all the guys who wear the uniform, knowing they were playing in front of' the future Pope Leo XIV, Guillén says. 'Look where he is now.' Guillén wants to take another trip to Rome with his wife. He hopes the new pope might bless him. 'I want to meet him,' he says. Looking back, it's easy to become swept away in the spirituality of it all. The feeling that perhaps a higher power really was at work. It's enough to turn skeptics into believers. The White Sox won all four of those World Series games by no more than two runs. They overcame deficits in two of them. They rallied from two runs down with Konerko's grand slam in the seventh inning of Game 2, only to lose the lead in the top of the ninth and then win on Scott Podsednik's unlikely home run in the bottom of the inning. They trailed by four in Houston in Game 3, then rallied again and won in 14 innings. They scored the lone run of Game 4 in the eighth inning, only for Jenks in the bottom of the ninth to allow a leadoff single before retiring three consecutive batters to close out the Series. And that run of good fortune, of the baseball gods smiling kindly after so many years of cursed luck, began in some ways in Game 1. It began with the future pope watching not more than two dozen rows behind the Sox dugout. With future President Barack Obama, then the junior senator from Illinois, also in attendance. It has to be the first and only sporting event in history with a future pope and future U.S. president among the crowd, both rooting for their neighborhood's team. 'As my fellow South Siders know, it has been a long time coming,' Obama said during a speech on the Senate floor the day after the Sox's victory in Game 4. He referenced how appropriate it felt that the final out came on a throw that was on time 'by only half a step;' how the White Sox won four games by a total of six runs. 'Win by the skin of your teeth,' Obama said. 'Win or die trying, that's our motto this year.' 'I had the privilege of attending Game 1 of the World Series on Saturday,' he said moments later, 'and the fans in and around the park were a cross-section of the city.' Few scenes spoke more to that than the one in Section 140, down along the third base line. There, in row 19, a Chicago-born priest of the Augustinian Order, a former Peruvian missionary then based in Rome, stood alongside three generations of South Siders to cheer on a Venezuelan-born manager leading a team that came to embody a city's identity. The mural honoring that long-ago night is painted on one of the pillars at the entrance of Section 140, and pays homage to the dual identities of the man depicted. In the larger image, there's Pope Leo XIV, in full papal regalia, lifting his right arm as if to offer a blessing. In a smaller one, in the top right, there's Robert Prevost, then known as Father Bob, attending Game 1 in 2005. It's a screenshot of the moment the camera found him in the top of the ninth. There's little Eddie Schmit next to him and his father, Eddie III. Just out of the frame is Ed Schmit Jr., who was closest of all to Father Bob and who knew him well from their work at St. Rita High School, where Father Bob sometimes taught and where Schmit Jr. was an alum and founding board member. About a dozen members of the Schmit family gathered for the mural's unveiling last month. Schmit Jr. died in July 2020 of pancreatic cancer, but his memory loomed large. 'He is just smiling down,' said Father Tom McCarthy, former principal at St. Rita and a longtime friend of both Schmit Jr. and the pope. Father Bob called Schmit Jr. often in his final days and their conversations never ended without Schmit sharing his belief that Prevost would be pope one day. It was something Schmit thought for a long time, from back when Father Bob blessed family babies and when Schmit often offered him Sox seats that have been in his family since 1983 at the old Comiskey Park. The site of the mural and the pope's seat in Section 140 is now something like a holy site, a shrine for the curious and the more spiritual. It's not a stretch to say people are making pilgrimages to it. On the first Monday in June, the line to take pictures with Pope Leo XIV's likeness stretches well into the concourse. It curls around the Mini Melts ice cream stand and ends near the beer counter where 16-ounce tall boys go for $12.99. A nearby usher, Keith Coplen Jr., says it's his first night on the job, and that he's nervous because he's in charge of the aisle of the mural. He prepares for the crowd but takes comfort in his surroundings and before it becomes too busy he takes a breath. 'I think Jesus is with me,' he says, nodding in the direction of the artwork next to him. Eighteen rows down, two men are on an expedition and stop when they find what they're looking for: Seat 2 in Row 19 of Section 140. It's Father Bob's seat from that night in 2005. They take turns sitting in it and take pictures of each other and, as Catholics, they feel drawn to the location, even if 20 years have gone by. 'I had to see this,' one of them, Dick Schindel, says as he leans against the row. Up above, Coplen is keeping count of those who come to the mural. There's a dozen, two dozen, more than 50 less than an hour before the first pitch, and 161 and counting when the Sox take the field. The rush grows busier the closer it gets to game time. People approach and make the sign of the cross. Families arrange themselves for the perfect picture. Some hold up prayer hands. Some hold out their phones for selfies. 'He's blessing me!' one woman yells to her friends, after she has stood beneath Pope Leo XIV's extended right arm. The White Sox are in last place again and the upper deck is closed again and the team's descent is perhaps proof of the limits of God's power, or priorities. For one night 20 years ago, though, something divine happened here. Believers were made. Faith rewarded. The spirit lingers, for those who seek it.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cold case: Daughter remembers mom, found murdered and dumped almost 23 years ago
The video above is from the archives: A report on Oct. 7, 2002, on Annie Griffin's murder. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — To Annitra Griffin, her late mother's presence is so strong that she still speaks of her in the present tense. Her mother, Annie Griffin, she said, 'IS' full of energy, and 'IS' funny. Annie and Annitra had their issues, especially when Annitra moved to Columbus in the late 90s to escape the violence that was gripping Youngstown, but mother and daughter had been on the path toward healing for at least a year and a half before Annie went missing in September 2002. Annie's body was found Oct. 4, 2002, in several garbage bags at a site often used for dumping at Carson Street and Cantwell Avenue on the Sharon Line part of the East Side, a place where several bodies had been dumped during the 90s and the early part of the 2000s. Annie, who was 48 when she died, battled mental health and addiction issues stemming from toxic relationships. Still living in Columbus today, Annitra, 48, said their relationship was on the verge of being revived when Annie was killed. 'I was loving my mom again and she was loving who I was,' said Annitra, who still lives in Columbus and has five children of her own. Annie had four children, but Annitra was her only girl. She was a graduate of South High School, and Annie's mother, Willie Mae McGilvary, owned the former Willie Mae's Soul Kitchen at 1184 Hillman St., which has since been torn down. The restaurant had its own share of violence. According to Youngstown Vindicator files, Annitra's grandmother in 1990 shot a customer who stabbed an employee. The employee died of their wounds. And in 1990, a man was shot and killed there. According to The Vindicator, McGilvary had a son who was murdered in a shootout in 1973. Annie was a native South Sider, and her kids lived there also; Annitra graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School before she moved to Columbus. She said her brothers were getting in trouble, and the city, which saw an average of almost 50 homicides a year in the 1990s, was not safe, so when she got pregnant, she decided the right thing to do for her and her child was to move. 'I just didn't want my son in Youngstown,' she said. Annie was not pleased that her daughter was moving, and that set in motion a rift that was just beginning to be repaired when she was killed. Annie was last seen Sept. 17, 2002, by her boyfriend at the time. Annitra reported her missing. Her remains were found Oct. 4, 2002, but she was not identified until several days later. Dental records needed to be used because of the condition of her body. It was Annitra whom the police asked for permission to get her mother's dental records. She said even before she spoke on the phone, once she got the call, she knew the news would be bad. 'I already knew what it was,' she said. Annie's car was found the day after she was last seen on West Delason Avenue, a short distance from her home on East Philadelphia Avenue. As she went missing, family members took to the media, including WKBN, to plead for any more information as to where she might be. Police got a tip from city litter control workers about the strange bags dumped on the Sharon Line a few days after the family went on television, which is when Annie's remains were found. Coroner's investigators could never determine the cause of death because of the condition of her body. Annitra said the way her mother was dismembered was a slap in the face to her and her family. 'How can they disrespect her remains like that?' she asked. 'It's ridiculous. It's terrible.' Former Chief of Detectives Capt. Robert Kane told The Vindicator Annie's death was a first for him in his then 32 years on the job because of how her body was disposed of. 'It takes a very sick mind to desecrate a body,' Kane told the newspaper then. The case was so shocking that a year after her remains were found, police went to the media to ask the public for information. They never received enough to reopen the case. Annitra said she reached out to a reporter about the case now because the memories of her mother are still powerful, and she wants whoever took part in her murder to be prosecuted. 'I just feel like everyone forgot who she is or was,' Annitra said. Anyone with information on the 2002 murder of Annie Griffin can call the Youngstown Police Detective Bureau at 330-742-8911 or CrimeStoppers Youngstown at 330-746-CLUE. This story is part of a series of cold cases that WKBN is examining. Do you have a cold case that you'd like us to look into further? Annitra also spoke with WKBN in 2002 about the case. You can see that video from our archives below: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Can Pope Leo XIV help flagging White Sox economy? Judging from buzz and jersey sales, yes
CHICAGO — Late Tuesday morning, Jose Guzman stopped into Grandstand Sports at 600 W. 35th Street looking for a new White Sox jersey. Guzman, 36, already has plenty in his closet, but there's a new guy who caught his eye. He wears No. 14, he's a little older than the average rookie and he's also from the area. Maybe you've heard of him: Robert Prevost from nearby Dolton. He went to St. Mary's of the Assumption back in the day and he even taught a little at St. Rita. Advertisement 'My aunt met him,' Guzman said. 'I've seen him before. I never met him, but he used to go to my church.' Prevost is, of course, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope and, presumably, the first one to also root for the White Sox. I say presumably because a lot of religious leaders support lost causes and minister to the downtrodden. But how many share a number with Paul Konerko? Guzman came to the right place. Grandstand is an emporium of Sox gear, and Josh Ganal, one of the co-owners, went to the back and brought back a Pope Leo 14 White Sox jersey in the home white with pinstripes, which retails for about $220. White Sox jerseys aren't exactly hot sellers right now. They only sell a few different current ballplayers at the Sox stadium, and Grandstand Sports isn't investing a lot of space into the current squad either. 'I'm telling you, I think Pope Leo is probably overselling ballplayers in the last two years,' said Josh's wife Stephanie, who helps run the store her parents opened in 1989. How many jerseys have they sold? 'I would say a few hundred because we have online too,' Stephanie Ganal said. That also says a lot about how many Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn jerseys they're selling these days. Late last week, Pope Leo madness took over Chicago. After the white smoke appeared, it was a shock to see an American and even more to see a South Sider. Once people found out he was a Sox fan, forget about it. The Ganals didn't have to wait for Prevost's brother to confirm the new pope's fandom like the rest of us. 'We started to hear from customers and people in the neighborhood,' Stephanie said. 'Obviously, this is a really tight neighborhood. So we started to hear from a lot of people that he was actually from the city and the South Side.' So that got the wheels in motion and Josh started making jerseys. (Grandstand actually works with the team to press the numbers on jerseys when there are player call-ups.) Advertisement 'You know,' he said, 'it's one of those things where we have a business that allows us to customize a jersey and put a name and number on it. So why not? Think about it, there's what, over a billion followers in that faith, right? So people want a feel-good story and people want to be the first to do everything. It really wasn't my idea. I cannot take credit for it. I was just inspired, let's put it that way.' The local ABC affiliate showed Josh holding up a jersey in a TV package that ended up on national TV and the next thing you know … 'That Saturday we opened and there were people lined up at 9:15 and we don't open until 10,' Stephanie said. 'They were lining up waiting for jerseys.' And it wasn't the usual crowd of Sox fans. 'It's grandma and grandpa standing in line because they're going to go to church on Sunday and they want to be the first ones with a Pope Leo jersey,' Josh said. 'Hopefully, it was the talk of the town and the talk of the church.' Now, the orders are coming in from all over. They sent four to Las Vegas the other night, shipped some to California and New York. They got a military order out of South Korea and at least one inquiry from Italy (a camera crew from an Italian news channel came in last week). At the official team store at the ballpark, which is now run by Fanatics, an employee told me he made about 10 jerseys during the last home series. There was a lot of interest, he said. But officially, the Sox are playing it cool and trying to be respectful. Mostly. Thursday, the Cubs jumped the gun and announced the new pope was a fan on their Wrigley Field marquee after an erroneous report on ABC. Congratulations to Pope Leo XIV! — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 8, 2025 After the truth came out, the Sox had some fun with it. The Sox then honored the pope with a pregame video Friday, but they haven't done much else. 'It would be premature to comment in any detail, but safe to say, we are having fun and creative conversations with the Chicago Archdiocese,' White Sox vice president of communications Scott Reifert wrote in an email. Advertisement People can make their own pope jerseys at the team store (some have even used Roman numerals for the XIV), but the team won't be selling chintzy T-shirts or making the players wear City Connect cassocks. 'Obviously, we're going to be respectful to him and make sure we're doing things the right way,' said Brooks Boyer, the team's senior vice president/chief revenue and marketing officer. Boyer is Catholic and a former Notre Dame basketball player, so he's thrilled about this turn of events. And it feels like every Catholic in the South Side or south suburbs knows someone who knows the pope, which makes the story even more tangible. The South Side is like a big small town in a lot of ways. 'My son's teacher at Montini told the class the pope did her graduation mass at St. Rita (High School),' he said. 'It's like the first time the pope is a real person, and it's super awesome he's a Sox fan.' Boyer and Reifert were working for the Sox in 2008 when a South Side guy ran for president and won. Reifert lived near Barack Obama in the Hyde Park area and their daughters were friends. Back then, the team even created a webpage to organize their stories before Obama's inauguration. Given that he was constantly wearing a White Sox hat, it goosed sales in the winter of 2008. 'Absolutely, they feel very similar, although the Obama experience took longer while the pope was overnight,' Reifert wrote. 'We had a sitting president who was a Sox fan,' Boyer said. 'I didn't think it could be any bigger. Well, there's a pope.' Obama, then a senator, threw out a first pitch at an ALCS game in 2005 and he was at Game 1 of the World Series. So was Prevost, who was working for the Augustinian order at the time. No one knew he was, though a lot of people suspect Prevost might have found his way to the late Ed Farmer's radio booth. Farmer, a one-of-a-kind personality, was a proud St. Rita grad and Prevost taught there. Advertisement 'Ed would've called me and said, 'Find someone to fill in for me on the radio. I'm going to Rome for the installation. St. Rita!'' Boyer said with a laugh. A picture of Prevost at the game that was published in the Sun-Times led intrepid investigators to find him in the actual game footage on Fox. He appeared as nervous as anyone as closer Bobby Jenks tried to lock down the win over the Astros. Pope Leo XIV made the broadcast while at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series — Joe Binder (@JoeBinder) May 9, 2025 'It's obviously great,' Boyer said. 'Any team would be thrilled that at a key moment for the franchise, the pope was there and wearing a jersey.' It's no secret that it's been a bad few years for the White Sox. Just after they rebuilt the team to make the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, they fell apart and plummeted to never-before-seen depths. As you might remember, they set the major-league record for losses (121) in a season last season. This year, they're 12-29, which is just the worst record in the American League. But all of a sudden, there's this out-of-nowhere feel-good story. The pope, of all people, is a White Sox fan. (And not just Donn Pall.) 'Something like this is a nice little shot in the arm for the organization,' Boyer said. Not just the organization. All of Chicago is rallying behind the story, and some are monetizing it. Obvious Shirts has a whole collection, with some proceeds going to two charities. Portillo's is selling 'The Leo,' described as 'a divinely seasoned Italian beef, baptized in gravy, and topped with your choice of sweet or hot peppers.' 'I'd like to get a count on the fake T-shirts that are out there,' Stephanie Ganal said. Even Boyer, who should probably be policing this kind of thing, said he's gotten a kick out of the ones he's seen online. Advertisement This story has hit home for so many people. The pictures of the pope at an Aurelio's, the stories about him teaching at local schools, and yes, the idea that he has groused about the Sox, just like you. As Boyer said, it makes an almost mythical figure feel real. 'The pope has 100 percent second-guessed Ozzie,' Boyer said. I ran into former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen last Friday and he said his wife, Ibis, had been in front of the TV crying for two days. They've been to mass at the Vatican before and now they want to return with a White Sox jersey. I Never thought a Pope would knowMy name 😂😂. When I was an altar boy as a kid, I don't think I would have ever imagined that 😂😂. — Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) May 13, 2025 So do the Ganals, who want to bring a total care package. Imagine making a pilgrimage to Italy just to talk about Tim Elko? For people like the Ganals at Grandstand, who make their living based on fans' attachment to a losing team, they're praying that this story is a harbinger for brighter days on the South Side, where baseball is religion and faith is waning. 'We were making jokes, saying we're hoping that the pope will help and give some form of blessing on the South Side,' Stephanie Ganal said. 'But we'll see.' Fixing the White Sox? That might be a job for someone of even a higher power than the pope. (Top photo of White Sox videoboard: Courtesy of the Chicago White Sox)
The Herald Scotland
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Chicagoans celebrate first Sunday after the election of Pope Leo IV
"It's fantastic," said David Williams, a South Sider attending a packed Mass at Holy Name Cathedral. "Now we're known for Michael Jordan, Al Capone and the pope. The Chicago holy trinity. We'll let the public decide in what order they want to put them in." Leo's election came as a complete surprise in Chicago. The city of 2.6 million people has long been known as a Catholic bastion in the United States. But a pope from the nation was regarded as unthinkable given America's power on the world stage. Now that Leo has been elected, some say a Chicagoan is actually just what the world needs. "It shows us Jesus brings us from all walks of life, from the very rich to the very poor," said Williams, 62, who welcomed Leo as a continuation of an ethic of service Francis established. "This is a great extension of the Christian tradition." Wife Frieda Williams expects he'll be able to reach all people. "Chicago is multicultural and so they really got someone who is multicultural," said the 68-year-old, noting Leo's dual citizenship with Peru and Creole roots. "They really got someone who represents all people." Parishioners at the church located just north of the Loop said Mass on Sunday after Leo's election was more crowded than Easter. The first Masses in Chicago after Leo's election come as the South Side native delivered his own first Sunday address in St. Peter's Square, warning of a "piecemeal" third world war and appealing for peace. All around his home city, churches were decorated with the yellow and white flags of the Vatican and churchgoers cheered "Viva Papa Leo XIV." Leo loves Chicago, cumbia and tennis, bishop says St. Mary of the Assumption - the church where Leo learned his faith - is shuttered, but other institutions he served at remain and so do many people who knew him back when he was just Robert Francis Prevost. Outside a South Side church on Sunday, Bishop Daniel Turley talked about the moment he learned Leo would be pope. He was at a Chicago house for Augustinians when white smoke started to billow from the Sistine Chapel at Vatican City, letting the world know a new pope had been chosen. Turley, 82, thought then that it could be his old Augustinian brother and fellow South Sider: Robert Prevost. "I did think it could be him, I really did," Turley said. "It was not a total surprise." The two Augustinians followed oddly similar paths. They both grew up in South Side parishes a 20- minute drive apart, both joined the religious order that focuses on service as a path to God and both served in Peru. Turley was bishop of Chulucanas, located near the border with Ecuador and north of Chiclayo, where Leo served as bishop. Turley is also a dual Peruvian citizen. "It's really something - he's from Chicago, he really likes Chicago, knows it well," Turley said. But "he really got a missionary spirit and I think he'll carry that with him as pope, so he'll really have great concern for the whole world." Turley knew the soon-to-be pope as a fellow White Sox fan, avid tennis player and lover of the cumbia music common in northern Peru. Serving as missionaries in the South American country gave them both a special appreciation for their faith, according to Turley. "The people are really holy people who would go the extra mile for you," he said. "That strengthens your faith, when you meet good people and are around them a lot." Attending Mass felt like 'walking on hallowed ground' Everyday South Side parishioners also remember Leo from back when he was Cardinal Prevost. "We were both really excited coming to church today, like we're walking on hallowed ground," said Alondra Aliviar outside Mass at St. Rita of Cascia, the South Side home of the Augustinian religious order Leo once headed. "He's from home, this is our parish, it's such a beautiful thing." Aliviar, 29, was attending Mass with husband Alfredo and their boys Theodore, 14 months, and Lucas, 4 months. The family saw then-Cardinal Prevost on the South Side as recently as last year, when he blessed them. "That's as close as you get to meeting a pope for us," said the 32-year-old dad. "We're shocked, we're blessed, happy and it hits home." Can Leo convert this Cubs fans? Among churchgoers celebrating the news at Mass on Sunday were Ted and Katie Kolbus, in town to visit their son, Nathan. The pair of 53-year-old lifelong Catholics said they had never imagined they'd get to see an American pope, let alone one from the Midwest. "It's just so exciting, especially getting to be here," Katie said. Nathan, 25, was also excited even if the pope is a White Sox fan. "I'm more of a Cubs fan," he said. He dithered when asked if Pope Leo could convert him. "Probably not, they're pretty bad," the downtown office worker said. "But maybe he can help turn things around."
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Chicagoans pack pews to celebrate South Side son Pope Leo XIV: 'It's fantastic'
Chicagoans pack pews to celebrate South Side son Pope Leo XIV: 'It's fantastic' Across Chicago, churchgoers attended Sunday Mass still stunned and elated about the election of a native of the city's South Side to the papacy. They told stories of when he was Robert Prevost. Show Caption Hide Caption 'No more war' says Pope Leo XIV in first Sunday message Pope Leo XIV addressed a packed St. Peter's Square, echoing an urgent plea for peace that was a recurring theme of his predecessor, Pope Francis. CHICAGO – Rome, the ancient city and historic home of the Catholic Church, felt close to the South Side on Sunday as Chicagoans were still grasping the reality that a son of the neighborhood had become pope, the first American ever. Pope Leo XIV, the successor to Pope Francis, was born about three miles south of Chicago's iconic downtown Loop area and first learned his faith at a parish abutting suburbs south of the city. Stunned residents have been celebrating the news since his election last week at the conclave. 'It's fantastic,' said David Williams, a South Sider attending a packed Mass at Holy Name Cathedral. 'Now we're known for Michael Jordan, Al Capone and the pope. The Chicago holy trinity. We'll let the public decide in what order they want to put them in.' Leo's election came as a complete surprise in Chicago. The city of 2.6 million people has long been known as a Catholic bastion in the United States. But a pope from the nation was regarded as unthinkable given America's power on the world stage. Now that Leo has been elected, some say a Chicagoan is actually just what the world needs. 'It shows us Jesus brings us from all walks of life, from the very rich to the very poor,' said Williams, 62, who welcomed Leo as a continuation of an ethic of service Francis established. 'This is a great extension of the Christian tradition.' Wife Frieda Williams expects he'll be able to reach all people. 'Chicago is multicultural and so they really got someone who is multicultural,' said the 68-year-old, noting Leo's dual citizenship with Peru and Creole roots. 'They really got someone who represents all people.' Parishioners at the church located just north of the Loop said Mass on Sunday after Leo's election was more crowded than Easter. The first Masses in Chicago after Leo's election come as the South Side native delivered his own first Sunday address in St. Peter's Square, warning of a 'piecemeal' third world war and appealing for peace. All around his home city, churches were decorated with the yellow and white flags of the Vatican and churchgoers cheered 'Viva Papa Leo XIV.' Leo loves Chicago, cumbia and tennis, bishop says St. Mary of the Assumption – the church where Leo learned his faith – is shuttered, but other institutions he served at remain and so do many people who knew him back when he was just Robert Francis Prevost. Outside a South Side church on Sunday, Bishop Daniel Turley talked about the moment he learned Leo would be pope. He was at a Chicago house for Augustinians when white smoke started to billow from the Sistine Chapel at Vatican City, letting the world know a new pope had been chosen. Turley, 82, thought then that it could be his old Augustinian brother and fellow South Sider: Robert Prevost. 'I did think it could be him, I really did,' Turley said. 'It was not a total surprise.' The two Augustinians followed oddly similar paths. They both grew up in South Side parishes a 20- minute drive apart, both joined the religious order that focuses on service as a path to God and both served in Peru. Turley was bishop of Chulucanas, located near the border with Ecuador and north of Chiclayo, where Leo served as bishop. Turley is also a dual Peruvian citizen. 'It's really something − he's from Chicago, he really likes Chicago, knows it well,' Turley said. But 'he really got a missionary spirit and I think he'll carry that with him as pope, so he'll really have great concern for the whole world.' Turley knew the soon-to-be pope as a fellow White Sox fan, avid tennis player and lover of the cumbia music common in northern Peru. Serving as missionaries in the South American country gave them both a special appreciation for their faith, according to Turley. 'The people are really holy people who would go the extra mile for you,' he said. 'That strengthens your faith, when you meet good people and are around them a lot.' Attending Mass felt like 'walking on hallowed ground' Everyday South Side parishioners also remember Leo from back when he was Cardinal Prevost. 'We were both really excited coming to church today, like we're walking on hallowed ground,' said Alondra Aliviar outside Mass at St. Rita of Cascia, the South Side home of the Augustinian religious order Leo once headed. 'He's from home, this is our parish, it's such a beautiful thing.' Aliviar, 29, was attending Mass with husband Alfredo and their boys Theodore, 14 months, and Lucas, 4 months. The family saw then-Cardinal Prevost on the South Side as recently as last year, when he blessed them. 'That's as close as you get to meeting a pope for us,' said the 32-year-old dad. 'We're shocked, we're blessed, happy and it hits home.' Can Leo convert this Cubs fans? Among churchgoers celebrating the news at Mass on Sunday were Ted and Katie Kolbus, in town to visit their son, Nathan. The pair of 53-year-old lifelong Catholics said they had never imagined they'd get to see an American pope, let alone one from the Midwest. 'It's just so exciting, especially getting to be here,' Katie said. Nathan, 25, was also excited even if the pope is a White Sox fan. 'I'm more of a Cubs fan,' he said. He dithered when asked if Pope Leo could convert him. 'Probably not, they're pretty bad,' the downtown office worker said. 'But maybe he can help turn things around.'
