Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church.

The White Sox unveiled a graphic installation Monday that pays tribute to the new pontiff and that moment during their last championship run. The pillar artwork features a waving Pope Leo XIV, along with a picture from the TV broadcast of the future pope sitting with good friend Ed Schmit and his grandson, Eddie.

The former Cardinal Robert Prevost vowed to work for unity. “I think he will inspire,” said Susan Hanssen, a professor who was born in Chicago and just arrived in Rome to teach.

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Pope Leo XIV poses for a photograph with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican May 19, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

In Chicago, whether it’s architecture or Catholicism, we do ordinary very well. It’s one reason we now call Pope Leo XIV our own.

Pope Leo XIV’s hails from the Windy City and is a self-confessed baseball fan, and famously attended the 2005 World Series.

Pope Leo XIV, who was elected as the first American pontiff in the more than 2000-year history of the office on May 8, is confirmed to be a White Sox fan. He is originally from the South Side of Chicago and was miraculously spotted on TV at Game 1 of the World Series in 2005.

The election of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as the new pontiff has delighted Catholics and officials alike.

The Chicago Archdiocese will host a mass next month to honor Pope Leo XIV, the first Chicago-born pope. Driving the news: The announcement comes on the heels of Leo's inaugural mass Sunday at the Vatican. State of play: The event will be June 14 at Rate Field and will include music, film and in-person testimonials, followed by a full Catholic Mass.

Chicagoans in Rome this weekend who knew the former Robert Prevost during his religious studies on the South Side and work in Peru say he will lead the Catholic Church "with a deep sensitivity for people who are the most suffering,

“The pope is not your friend. He is not going to sit down and have a beer with you,” he says. “If you think the pope is your pal, will you feel betrayed when he reminds you of your religious and moral duties, and chides you for failing to follow them?”