June 14 gathering to celebrate election of native son, Pope Leo XIV

Tens of thousands of people will gather on June 14 in Rate Field on Chicago’s South Side to join the Archdiocese of Chicago in celebrating the election of its native son — and first North American pontiff — Pope Leo XIV.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for the sold-out event and the program begins at 2:30. Chicago Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky will emcee the program, which will include live interviews with friends of Pope Leo and a video highlighting his Chicago roots.

In a prerecorded message, Pope Leo XIV will greet participants and offer a special message to the young people of the world (the pope himself will not be in attendance).

Cardinal Cupich will be the main celebrant for Mass at 4 p.m.

It is a day for Catholics and non-Catholics to come together to share their joy over the momentous election of Pope Leo, archdiocesan staff said.

“It’s an opportunity for the people of the city and the church of Chicago to celebrate the fact that a pope has been elected who was born, raised, educated to some extent here among us, here in our home,” said Todd Williamson, director of the archdiocese’s Office for Divine Worship and a member of the organizing committee.

It is also an opportunity for the church of Chicago to give thanks to the Holy Spirit for what he has done with the election, organizers said.

“We know that we’re in a moment in American culture where people are spiritually seeking and looking for meaning and purpose and oftentimes we think of the pope as sort of not quite human, as some kind of mythical figure and he’s somewhat irrelevant because he’s not like us,” said Brian Romer Niemiec, coordinator of the archdiocese’s Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry and a member of the organizing committee. “If this moment can make the pope seem like he is like us, he is one of us, I think that helps a lot of people who are trying to figure out ‘Is there more to life than this?’ ‘What is my purpose?’ ‘Where do I belong?’”

The idea to have a celebration began among archdiocesan staff and with Cardinal Cupich in Rome the day after Pope Leo was elected.

“Someone suggested the Sox stadium actually before we realized he was a Sox fan,” Romer Niemiec said.

They wanted to tie it to Pope Leo’s inauguration on May 18 and that was the only stadium available, he explained.

Staff shared their idea with Cardinal Cupich in Rome who happened to be having dinner with some donors who knew Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the White Sox. They reached out to Reinsdorf with the idea and plans began to form. 

Food concessions will be available for a period of time during the event and there will be prayer booths along with other activities taking place in the stadium, such as selfies with life-sized cutouts of Pope Leo.

Participants can also view the new Pope Leo mural the White Sox installed at the park near section 140. That’s where then-Father Robert Prevost sat with his friend Ed Schmit for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. He and his friend were captured on TV during that game and a clip of it went viral after the pope’s election.