Pope Leo XIV to address youth by video at June 14 Chicago event
Pope Leo XIV smiles during his general audience on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA CNA Staff, May 28, 2025 / 17:11 pm (CNA).
Those attending the June 14 celebration honoring Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field in Chicago will hear directly from the new pontiff.
The Archdiocese of Chicago announced that recently installed Pope Leo will deliver a “special video message” to the world’s youth at the event at the Chicago White Sox’s home stadium.
The celebration will also include a Mass, music, a film, and in-person testimonials about Pope Leo XIV, a South Side native and lifelong White Sox fan.
The public is invited to attend the upcoming “celebration of the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pope born and raised in the Chicago area.”
The event is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. on June 14 with Mass at 4 p.m. Gates open at 12:30 p.m., according to the archdiocese. Ticket details are forthcoming.
Last week, the White Sox unveiled a graphic installation honoring Pope Leo on the lower-level concourse near the seat from which he watched Game 1 of the 2005 World Series against the Houston Astros. The White Sox internal design services team designed the mural, which is not a painting.
Brooks Boyer, the White Sox executive vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer, told MLB.com last week that the pope “has an open invite to throw out a first pitch” at any White Sox game.
