The White Sox's ‘Pope Hat’ Night Looked Like Heaven on Earth

On Tuesday night, the White Sox hosted the Holy Grail of all baseball giveaways: a “Pope Hat” promotion themed entirely around Pope Leo XIV, the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, an Illinois native and a long-suffering White Sox fan.

Ever since his appointment, the White Sox have worked to capitalize on the connection between themselves and Pope Leo, whose support for the franchise has been well-documented. There is now a mural of the religious leader inside the ballpark. Last summer, the Sox hosted a Catholic mass at Rate Field. And outside of Chicago, His Holiness has even acknowledged his diehard support while cruising around the Vatican, where loud and proud Americans have bestowed gifts upon him like wise men awarding presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

On Tuesday, some 38,000 fans in attendance for the Sox’s game vs. the Reds (many of whom were dressed in pope and nun costumes of their own) were presented with free, White Sox-themed Pontiff hats (a play on the papal mitre) upon entry to the stadium, a giveaway that originally began as a 2,500-person promotion but soon expanded to over 40,000 to meet demand.

A nun—Dominican Sr. Mary Jo Sobieck, who also appeared on the mound in 2018—threw out the first pitch. Concession stands served sodas and other beverages in reusable plastic cups with the phrase ”Chicago Pope” emblazoned on the sides (beer vendors were referring to the drink as “holy water,” according to Sox fan Brett Haffner). And even the team's mascot, Southpaw, was in on the fun.

a special home run celebration for the night pic.twitter.com/v5KhjI7SQs
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 12, 2026

Perhaps best of all, though, Chicago priest Fr. Tom Hurley led the entire stadium in a fifth-inning “sign of peace,” a staple section of Catholic Mass proceedings that, against all odds, has now found its way into Major League Baseball (“I did the sign of peace at Rate Field” would be an electric curveball for a game of “two truths and a lie.”)

🤝 pic.twitter.com/cyTH4qnDtw
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 12, 2026

“Without a doubt, the ‘sign of peace’ after the fifth inning [was my favorite part of the night],” said Peter Coffey, another attendee and Chicago resident. “It was unlike anything I had ever experienced at any ballpark or sporting event. I found it incredibly wholesome, and I honestly hope it’s something the Sox (or every team, for that matter) adopt as a permanent fixture.”

Added Haffner: “Even [those] who aren’t Catholic were participating in the moment and I think created a really cool, unique moment where 38,000 fans could come together in between innings.”

As for the Pope hats fans were donning, such regalia actually wasn’t on the table when the team was initially discussing an event tied to Pope Leo. In fact, the White Sox first pitched a Pontifex bobblehead night, but the Vatican didn’t much like that idea, according to Fr. Hurley. The priest then suggested the hats instead, according to comments he gave to the National Catholic Reporter.

Now, you might be wondering: Does Pope Leo know about all this? Surely, if the team was in conversation with the Vatican, someone let him know, right? Well, that does seem to be the case.

“There have certainly been people that have talked to him that claim that he’s following everything that’s going on with the White Sox,” said Brooks Boyer, the team’s executive vice president and chief revenue/marketing officer, per The Athletic. “Pope Leo, if you’re watching, I hope he knows about it. Obviously we want this to be something that’s very respectful to him and connect him with some of his roots.”

Haffner, who posted a few different photos from his time at Tuesday's game online (including a fabulous clip of the “peace be with you” moment) plans to hold onto his memorabilia for the foreseeable future.

“I'm absolutely keeping it,” he said of the Pope hat, “plus the specialty jersey I got. They are relics I plan on keeping forever.”

And given the success of the giveaway and the game—which sold out, mind you—might something like this happen again?

“We’ll see,” Boyer told the Chicago Sun Times. “We wanna be super respectful to the pope, to the Vatican. Hopefully this represents a tie to his childhood team, doing it the exact right way.”

It sounds like fans would be receptive to a repeat, though.

“There was a genuine craze of excitement when everybody found out [about Leo’s Illinois ties], and especially for us White Sox fans, considering how bad the last few seasons have gone—it truly felt like a blessing (pun intended),” Haffner said. “I think it’s a cool opportunity for Chicago culture to get showcased on the international stage when the Pope has acknowledged both Chicago and the White Sox in different settings.

“Chicago definitely loves having the Pope be one of their own.”

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