The Chicago White Sox announced they will honor Pope Leo XIV with a "pope hat" giveaway on August 11. The hats will be shaped like a pope’s mitre with a White Sox logo.
The official website for Major League Baseball dropped the news on April 8, 2026.
“The world’s most famous White Sox fan will be honored with a specialty giveaway at Chicago’s Rate Field later this year. On Aug. 11 against the Reds, the White Sox will be giving away a limited number of pope-themed hats with a special ticket package – shaped like the Pope's miter with a White Sox logo on it – to fans lucky enough to receive them.”
Pope Leo XIV is a huge Chicago White Sox fan.
John Prevost, the pope’s brother, stressed that Pope Leo XIV is a loyal White Sox fan and “was never, ever a Cubs fan.”
“He was always a Sox fan,” John Prevost told WGN. “Our mother was a Cubs fan…and our dad was a Cardinals fan.”
Following this revelation last year, several stories hit the news regarding the Pope and the White Sox.
One of these viral stories includes a clip of then-Father Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV) attending Game 1 of the World Series in Chicago between the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox. The video generated nearly 340,000 views on X alone.
In May 2025, the Chicago White Sox honored Pope Leo by marking his seat from the 2005 World Series game.
The announcement came after the team installed a graphic of the pope near Section 140 at Rate Field. Then-Father Robert Prevost sat in row 19, seat 2 during the first White Sox game of the 2005 World Series.
The now-pontiff attended that game with his friend Ed Schmit, who has since passed away. Schmit's grandson, Eddie, told WGN News,
"When all that transpired, I looked back and said, 'Is that the pope next to me?' And sure enough, it was, and it was pretty surreal, to say the least. It was awesome to see that..."
Another example includes the Pope’s White Sox joke during his digital encounter with over 16,000 young people from across the United States at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In a surprising response to moderator Katie McGrady, Pope Leo XIV said,
"I just want to say I only wear 'White Sox' and I use a different word for Wordle every day.”