By Tom Polangek and Joshua McLwi
Chicago (Reuters) -Pop Leo, a native of the south side of Chicago and a longtime fan of his beloved, but dressed White Sox, sent a video message on Saturday to a crowd of sale in a Catholic liturgy in his honor in their native Balpark.
The pontiff, the first leader of the Global Catholic Church in the United States, appeared in about seven minutes of Field’s Jumbotron of Field during the event organized by the Chicago Archbishopric and with the participation of several other local figures, including the Bulls Chuck Swirsky.
“It is a pleasure to congratulate everyone who got together at White Sox Park on this big holiday,” the Pope said in the video message, his first public address to the United States after his election on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis.
The new pope called Chicago to put aside the “selfish ways” in order to spread hope and work to build a community in his hometown.
“We have to look for ways to get together and promote a hope message,” he said, speaking in English with a slight accent in Chicago. Hours before Field’s event began, people had gathered around the stadium, including children in White Sox T -shirts, hockers who sell baseball hats, nuns in white and blue habits and priests.
The Saturday event, led by Chicago Cardinal Blaise Blyze Cupic, was held as demonstrations were held in the US, including in Chicago Daily Plaza, to protest the repression of President Donald Trump on the untamed immigrants and in Washington, with the President Denn.
The Pope did not mention politics and instead proposed a message to encourage young people.
Sister Barbara Reed, President of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where the pope visits the seminary in the 1980s, told Reuters that he hoped his message would help unite the United States
“A holiday, which focuses on hope and opportunity and unity, is already needed more than ever,” she said. “We hope this can be a catalyst to unite us.”
Leo, former Cardinal Robert Pressee, was born in Dolton, on the outskirts of the southern side of the city and spent the bigger part of his career as a priest outside the United States. Peru National Anthem. The US National Anthem followed, performed by the Leo High School choir, who was a competitor of America’s Got Talent.
The Pope’s family, including a brother who still lives in a suburb in Chicago, talks about Pontiph’s enthusiasm for White Sox, even when the rival Chicago Kubs also tried to claim him. Leo briefly raised the trademark of SOX’s black and white hat offered by a fan during his weekly audience at St. Peter Square on Wednesday.
Resale of tickets for more than $ 1,200
On the first day when the tickets became available to the event on Saturday, over 10,000 tickets were sold in the first 15 minutes, said White Sox.
Tickets, which are sold for $ 5 per piece, hit the resale sites like StubHub for more than $ 1,200 just hours after they were launched, according to Chicago Sun-Times. While Catholic parishes across the city, including the one where the Prevost family visited a liturgy, have closed against the background of the church’s depression, Chicago’s identity is still very intertwined with the Catholic Church. When they meet strangers, the Chicagians sometimes identify their neighborhood in the name of the closest parish.
“Many people in Chicago just have a great pride that the new pope is from Chicago,” says Reverend Tom McCarthy, a popular preacher from the city, who is also an August. “They want to celebrate it together.”
White Sox (39-121) set the record of modern day for most losses in one season in 2024. This year, the team has the worst record in the US League so far.
Fans pray the table gives the team a divine impetus.
“We need all the help we can get,” said McCarthy, a Sox Lifelong fan. “If the field will be blessed by this event, we hope it will move on to the players.”
(Tom Polangek and Joshua McLwie’s report, additional reporting by Emily Schmal in Chicago, editing by Emily Schmal and Deep Bablington)