CHICAGO (LifeSiteNews) — Tens of thousands of Catholics broke into song after Pope Leo XIV addressed crowds at Rate Field, the home of his favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox.
During a June 14 event to celebrate Pope Leo XIV at the Chicago White Sox Guaranteed Rate Field, thousands of Catholics began singing “Holy God We Praise Thy Name,” following a video message from Pope Leo, the first American pope.
Tens of THOUSANDS of Catholics erupt in ‘Holy God, We Praise Thy Name’ at Guaranteed Rate Field after Pope Leo’s message.
This is faith.
This is joy.
This is America. pic.twitter.com/hwHneUrYXh— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) June 16, 2025
“It may be that the context of your life has not given you the opportunity to live the faith, to live as participants in the faith community,” Pope Leo told the crowds via a video message streamed from one of the stadiums TV screens.
“And I’d like to take this opportunity to invite each one of you to look into your own hearts, to recognize that God is present and that perhaps in many different ways, God is reaching out to you, calling you, inviting you to know His Son Jesus Christ through the Scriptures, perhaps through a friend or relative, a grandparent who might be a person of faith. … Discover how important it is for each one of us to pay attention, [to] the presence of God in our own hearts, to that longing for love in our lives, for … true searching, for finding the ways that we may be able to do something with our own lives to serve others,” he continued.
“And in that service to others, we may find that coming together in friendship, building up community, we too can find true meaning in our lives,” he declared.
The event, hosted by Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, was titled “Chicago Celebrates Pope Leo XIV,” organized by the Archdiocese of Chicago. This event honored Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and lifelong White Sox fan, who was recently elected as the first pope from the United States.
The celebration drew approximately 30,000 to 40,000 attendees, marking the first sold-out event at the stadium in four years. The event featured a special video message from Pope Leo XIV, aimed at the “young people of the world,” broadcast for the first time at the stadium.
The Mass that followed the Pope’s message was celebrated by the archbishop of Chicago, Blaise Cupich. At the beginning of the event, Cupich had said that ecumenism and interfaith dialogue were a priority for Pope Leo XIV, as they are for him. Via the live broadcast, the vice president of the White Sox had invited the Pope to come back to Rate Field and throw a ceremonial pitch.
