{"id":56794,"date":"2025-05-22T09:47:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T09:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56794"},"modified":"2025-05-22T09:47:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T09:47:54","slug":"chicago-white-sox-honor-pope-leo-xiv-with-mural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56794","title":{"rendered":"Chicago White Sox honor Pope Leo XIV with mural"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Chicago White Sox unveiled a new graphic mural honoring Pope Leo XIV, located in the section he sat in during the 2005 World Series game he attended. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Chicago White Sox honored Pope Leo XIV on Monday, May 19, with a mural on the concourse wall near the section where he sat during Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.<\/p>\n

The mural, which is actually a graphic installation rather than a painting, was installed near Section 140 at Rate Field. That is where Pope Leo XIV, who at the time was Fr. Robert Prevost, sat during the game in 2005.<\/p>\n

Should Pope Leo visit the United States, his favorite baseball team is ready to welcome him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has an open invite to throw out a first pitch,\u201d said Brooks Boyer, the White Sox executive vice president, chief revenue and marketing officer, in a column written by White Sox beat writer Scott Merkin. \u201cHeck, maybe we\u2019ll let him get an at-bat.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cFor us to acknowledge the section by having the Pope be part of our history, for us to be able to put something as quickly as we have been able to do, to put this on the ballpark is something very special for us. It only adds to our 125 years of history at the park,” said Boyer.<\/p>\n

Boyer never thought he would live to see a pope from North America, never mind “a White Sox fan from the South side of Chicago that is among us.”<\/p>\n

The future pope attended the World Series game with his longtime friend Ed Schmit, who died in 2020. Schmit and his children called Pope Leo “Fr. Bob.” The two met when they worked together at St. Rita of Cascia High School, located on Chicago’s South Side. Pope Leo XIV worked there before his ordination to the priesthood.<\/p>\n

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The newly unveiled mural honoring Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago.<\/figcaption>Courtesy Chicago White Sox<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Schmit’s five children were present at the unveiling, said Merkin.<\/p>\n

Ed Schmit IV, who sat next to the future pope at the game, told Merkin that he only remembers two things: White Sox player Jermaine Dye hitting a home run, and his father receiving a call saying they had been shown on television.<\/p>\n

“I knew the video existed,” said Schmit. “When all this transpired, I looked back and I said, \u2018Is that the Pope next to me?\u2019 Sure enough it was. It was awesome to see that. I\u2019m glad I can share that with people. I don\u2019t want anyone to think he\u2019s a Cubs fan because he\u2019s not a Cubs fan. The Pope is a White Sox fan. We have proof. He was at Game 1 of the World Series, and everyone knows now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Prevost and the elder Schmit remained in contact until his death, said his daughter, Heidi Skokal.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight around the time my dad was passing, Father Bob made sure he spoke with him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her father also made a surprising prediction: Fr. Bob would be pope.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said to Father Bob, \u2018I know you are going to be the next Pope. I might not be here to see it, but I will definitely be looking down.\u2019 I\u2019m sure he is today,” she said.<\/p>\n

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The Chicago White Sox unveiled a new graphic mural honoring Pope Leo XIV, located in the section he sat in during the 2005 World Series game he attended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":56795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nChicago White Sox honor Pope Leo XIV with mural - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56794\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chicago White Sox honor Pope Leo XIV with mural - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Chicago White Sox unveiled a new graphic mural honoring Pope Leo XIV, located in the section he sat in during the 2005 World Series game he attended.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56794\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T09:47:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/avtvip-2025-05-22T164701.939.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56794\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56794\",\"name\":\"Chicago White Sox honor Pope Leo XIV with mural - 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