Pope Leo XIV, a devoted fan of the Chicago White Sox, reportedly is interested in throwing out the first pitch at a game.

The co-owner of the Chicago White Sox says Pope Leo XIV is interested in throwing out the first pitch at some point in the future.

Justin Ishbia, the team’s co-owner, recently met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. (He gave him a signed jersey, which is becoming somewhat of a tradition for people meeting the sports-fan Pontiff.)

Speaking to Chicago media after the encounter, Ishbia said meeting the Pope “felt like two guys talking baseball.”

“It was a really wonderful experience and one that I won’t forget. I shared the desire and the vision of a new stadium one day, and hopefully he’ll be there,” he said.

The Chicago White Sox play their home games at Rate Field, which opened in 1991. Pope Leo, who at the time was a priest known as “Father Bob,” attended a World Series game there in 2005 and was spotted on television broadcasts. After his election as pope, the White Sox installed a mural near that seat in his honor.

Pope pitcher!?

Ishbia told Pope Leo XIV that he’d love for him to throw the first pitch if the team ever opens a new stadium.

“And I said to him, ‘I would love for you to be there and throw that first pitch.’ And he looked at me, and he smiled and he said, ‘Thank you,’ and then he said, ‘I’d love to — schedule permitting,’” said Ishbia.

Many people have wondered when the first pope born in the USA will make a return to his homeland, and where he would visit on a trip to the United States. The last papal visit to the United States was in 2015, when Pope Francis visited New York City, Washington, and Philadelphia.

Should Pope Leo come to the United States, Chicagoans are hopeful that he will make a stop in the Windy City a priority. Illinois Gov. Jay Pritzker recently visited Pope Leo at the Vatican, where he invited him to come back to his hometown.

Should he come to Chicago, the White Sox are hopeful that the Pope will come to a game. Since his election, Pope Leo XIV has had an “open invitation” to throw out a first pitch at a White Sox game, said Brooks Boyer, the team’s executive vice president, chief revenue, and marketing officer.

“Heck, maybe we’ll let him get an at-bat,” said Boyer at the time!

Another holy pitcher

If Leo does head to the mound in Chicago, it won’t be the first time that the White Sox welcome a holy pitcher.

Dominican Sister Mary Jo Sobiek took to the mound in 2018 before a Chicago White Sox-Kansas City Royals game. She stuck a moistened finger in the air to check the wind direction, bounced a hardball off her arm, and threw what White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito described later as a “perfect pitch.”

Sobieck played softball and volleyball during her years at the College of St. Scholastica, in Minnesota. In her prime her fastball clocked in at 76 mph.

She later got a baseball card made for her, in recognition of that impressive first pitch.