Pope Leo Given His Own White Sox ‘Pope Hat’ During Visit With South Side Priest

BEVERLY — At a sold-out White Sox game earlier this month, the team celebrated their most famous fan, Pope Leo XIV, by distributing 40,000 “pope hats” to the crowd at Rate Field.

Now, the American pontiff has his own keepsake from the game. 

On Wednesday, Rev. Tom McCarthy, prior provincial of the Beverly-based Midwest Augustinians, met with Leo and presented him a gift box from the White Sox. The box included a nicer version of the hat, with a sewn-on patch featuring a Sox logo. Also inside were some of the “pope hats” given to fans, a jersey, a signed baseball card and a letter from team owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

The White Sox “pope hat” was inspired by the ceremonial “mitre,” a pointed hat worn by Catholic bishops, cardinals and popes. A photo of Leo holding the hat alongside McCarthy has been viewed more than 700,000 times on the social media platform X.

“He really enjoyed it,” McCarthy said of the pope’s reaction to the gifts. “He did say, ‘Too bad we didn’t win the game.’”

Indeed, the White Sox lost the game 5-4 to the Cincinnati Reds, though the team remain in first place in the American League Central Division. McCarthy said Pope Leo follows the Sox from Vatican City, although he was unsure how many games he is able to watch considering the seven-hour time difference.

McCarthy, a close friend of Pope Leo, recounted some highlights of the game that happened off the field, including: Sister Mary Jo Sobieck, a former Marian Catholic High School teacher, throwing out the first pitch; the Midwest Augustinians accepting a $14,000 donation from the White Sox; and the ballpark doing a traditional Catholic “Sign of Peace” during the fifth inning. 

The Rev. Tom Hurley, a Morgan Park native and pastor at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Evergreen Park, led the ballpark in the rite performed during Catholic Mass in which congregants greet and shake hands with those around them.

“I told Pope Leo, I said, ‘Forty-thousand-plus people were giving the Sign of Peace, Catholic, non-Catholic, it didn’t matter. It was beautiful,’” McCarthy said. 

He added: “It was wonderful — such a good, good atmosphere.” 

During his meeting with Leo, McCarthy spoke of the positive impact the pontiff has had on the church since he became pope in May 2025, especially in the United States. 

“It’s a fun thing about Pope Leo and the White Sox, but it’s more than just being fun. What he has said about the power of sports and building community, I think he is doing that. Because I have seen churches saying there’s an increase of people becoming Catholic, an increase of people coming back, people saying, ‘I’m going to give this another try,’” McCarthy said. 

The first American pope’s journey to the Vatican began on the South Side. Leo, who was born Robert Francis Prevost in Bronzeville, grew up in south suburban Dolton. He attended the Catholic Theological Union and he also taught in local Catholic schools, including as a substitute teacher at St. Rita in Ashburn.

The pope also previously served as prior provincial of the Midwest Augustinians in the 1990s — the same position McCarthy, who grew up in Marquette Park, now holds. As for whether Leo will make a return trip home to Chicago, McCarthy said it’s more a matter of when, not if. 

“I did talk to him about what I would like to see, in kind of following in the footsteps of [Pope] John Paul II [who visited Chicago in 1979], but he definitely will be back,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know when.”