A letter sealed with the papal stamp arrived at Rate Field on Tuesday, the day the White Sox opened the American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros in Houston. It wasn't just any piece of fan mail. It came from Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pontiff and lifelong White Sox fan.
The White Sox shared word of the letter's arrival in a post on the day of the series opener, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Dated September 9, the letter was written on official papal stationery and expressed that the pope was pleased to receive a kind letter from the team, per the same account. In it, Pope Leo XIV referenced the team's now-famous Pope Hat Night promotion held at Rate Field on August 11, and offered a reflection that sport can become, in his words, a school of life where people learn that abundance comes from sharing, respect and joy rather than victory at any cost. He wrote that he hopes the White Sox will foster friendship and solidarity among people, and closed by invoking blessings upon the team and their loved ones.
A Pontiff Who Won't Take Credit
Reporters aboard the papal plane pressed Pope Leo XIV directly two days before the letter's arrival, asking whether he'd played any role in the White Sox's surprising return to the postseason. He wouldn't bite. “No comment,” he said with a smile, before adding, “Great things happen in Chicago,” according to FOX Sports. The exchange came during a flight to France just days after Chicago clinched its playoff berth.
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost on Chicago's South Side and raised in south suburban Dolton, became the first American-born pope when he was elected in May 2025, as CBS News reports. His brother John publicly confirmed his lifelong allegiance to the South Siders shortly after the election, cementing a fandom that has since taken on an almost liturgical quality around the ballpark.
How Pope Hat Night Sparked a Papal Package
The August 11 promotion against the Cincinnati Reds became a phenomenon in its own right. The White Sox had planned to give away 2,500 miters bearing the team's logo, but fan demand was so overwhelming that the giveaway expanded to more than 38,000 hats for a sellout crowd, Sports Illustrated reported. Dominican Sister Mary Jo Sobieck added to the night's spectacle by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, bouncing the ball off her own bicep before it reached the plate.
That night's frenzy set off a chain of events that reached Rome. Chicago priest Father Tom McCarthy later traveled to the Vatican to personally deliver a package of gifts to Pope Leo XIV, including a signed team baseball and a custom-made White Sox miter, according to footage posted by the team. The letter delivered to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was written in direct response to receiving that package.
The gift exchange between the Vatican and 35th Street didn't start there. Back in June, former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski presented the pope with the official baseball from the final out of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, a piece of history tied to Pierzynski's own role as starting catcher during that championship run, as detailed by AP News. And in May 2025, the team unveiled a mural at Rate Field commemorating the section where then-Father Robert Prevost sat during Game 1 of that 2005 World Series, which the White Sox went on to sweep against the Astros, per TSN.
An Improbable Playoff Run Meets Old History
The letter's arrival coincides with one of the more unlikely turnarounds in franchise history. The 2026 White Sox finished the regular season 84-78, becoming the first team in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason immediately after three consecutive 100-loss seasons, a stretch that included a modern MLB-record 121 losses in 2024, according to CBS News. Heading into this Wild Card round, the franchise hadn't won a single postseason series since that 2005 championship, despite brief playoff appearances in 2008, 2020 and 2021, CBS Sports notes.
There's also a layer of symmetry to this particular matchup. The White Sox opened the 2026 Wild Card Series against the very same Houston Astros they swept in the 2005 World Series while the future pope watched from his seat at Rate Field, a pairing AP News flagged as a striking bit of historical echo. Chicago's dual-team postseason moment adds to the rarity: when both the White Sox and Cubs clinched playoff spots on September 24, it marked only the fourth time in MLB history that both Chicago clubs qualified in the same season, with the previous joint qualification coming in 2020, per CBS News.
For now, the pope's letter stands as its own small piece of that unlikely season, a papal blessing crossing the Atlantic just as the first pitch of Chicago's playoff opener approached. Whatever role he had or didn't have in the Sox's turnaround, Pope Leo XIV made clear he was watching from Rome, hat presumably in hand.
