Pope Leo XIV’s White Sox ties just made it all the way to the Vatican.
The White Sox posted a photo Thursday morning showing the pontiff holding the team’s “Pope Hat,” the same mitre-style giveaway that turned heads at Rate Field two weeks ago. In the picture, Pope Leo is smiling alongside Father Tom McCarthy, who is also from Chicago.
“The White Sox Pope Hat has officially landed at the Vatican,” the White Sox tweeted.
Pope Leo - born Robert Prevost and a diehard White Sox fan from south suburban Dolton, Ill. - was not at the ballpark when the team rolled out the hat on Aug. 11, but the giveaway clearly made an impression. The club handed out almost 40,000 of the hats, and the announced crowd that night was 38,113.
The White Sox have leaned hard into the connection. They’ve already put up a mural of Pope Leo at the ballpark and held a Mass there in his honor.
His link to the team has surfaced during an unexpectedly strong season in Chicago. The White Sox are 70-63 and sitting atop the American League Central.
This isn’t the first time the pope has been tied to a White Sox keepsake, either. In June, former catcher A.J.
Pierzynski gave Pope Leo the baseball from the final out in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. Leo attended that game, and the White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros for the South Side’s first title since 1917.
Former first baseman Paul Konerko had also given the pontiff a signed jersey with “Pope Leo” written on the back.
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