Hundreds packed Price Discipline on Saturday to have fun the papacy of Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, marking a historic second for the native Catholic neighborhood and a degree of delight for the town.
The occasion, hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago, drew an estimated 30,000 folks and included a live-streamed tackle from Pope Leo. It was the pope’s first direct tackle to an American viewers since being elected final month.
“It’s a pleasure for me to greet all of you gathered collectively in White Sox park on this nice celebration as a neighborhood of religion,” Pope Leo mentioned in his opening remarks. “I need to each categorical my gratitude to you and likewise encourage you to proceed to construct up neighborhood [and] friendship as brothers and sisters in your every day lives, in your households, in your parishes, within the archdiocese and all through the world.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, who led the Mass, referred to as the day “a beautiful celebration of a Chicago pope.”
“It has been a extremely thrilling time since Pope Leo was elected. I do know — I used to be there,” Cupich mentioned. “I might sense, even in Rome, the power in Chicago, realizing how excited everybody was.”
Cupich additionally used the event to talk out about immigration and the remedy of undocumented folks within the U.S.
“It’s fallacious to scapegoat those that are right here with out paperwork,” Cupich mentioned throughout his homily. “For certainly, they’re right here on account of a damaged immigration system. And it’s a damaged immigration system which each events have failed to repair.
Cupich inspired these gathered to look to the undocumented and discover qualities they share in frequent.
“So most of the undocumented have for many years been related to us,” Cupich mentioned. “They’re right here not by invasion, however by invitation — an invite to reap the fruits of the earth that feed our households; an invite to scrub our tables, properties and resort rooms; an invite to panorama our lawns; and sure, even an invite to look after our kids and elders.”
Cupich mentioned that by searching for connections as a substitute of variations, folks can “reply to this second and thus reclaim our calling to dwell as genuine individuals within the picture of divine individuals.”
The celebration included dwell music, prayer and moments of reflection. Each the Peruvian and U.S. nationwide anthems had been carried out, celebrating the pope’s twin citizenship in each international locations.
College students from Our Girl of Mount Carmel Academy, 720 W. Belmont Ave., who just lately participated in a mock conclave to be taught concerning the papal election course of, attended the celebration dressed as cardinals and Pontifical Swiss Guard. The Leo Catholic Excessive Faculty choir additionally carried out following Pope Leo’s remarks.
Members of the church handed out playing cards commemorating the ceremony with photographs and quotes from the pope on the again. Attendees might additionally obtain certificates commemorating their “first Mass on the ballpark.”
“It’s an honor to be a part of this historic, great day,” mentioned Dwana DeLaCerna, who obtained a kind of certificates and mentioned she relates personally to the pope’s background.
“I’m Creole, my household is from New Orleans and made its option to Chicago, so my mom’s folks did the identical route that Pope Leo’s mom did.”
The pope’s grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, had been from New Orleans’ Seventh Ward and moved to Chicago within the early twentieth century.
DeLaCerna mentioned her father’s title can also be Leo, and Leo Catholic Excessive Faculty is without doubt one of the faculties her father supported in Chicago.
“There’s simply loads of parallels between my household and Leo’s story,” DeLaCerna mentioned. “So the thrill round that’s what made me come right here at this time.”
Many attendees described the day as a once-in-a-lifetime expertise and mentioned they felt impressed by the pope’s ties to Chicago, expressing hope that it might reinvigorate the town’s Catholic neighborhood.
“It’s such a blessing that the pope got here from Chicago,” mentioned Steven Handwerker, who was sporting a Sox jersey with Leo’s title embroidered on the again. “We’d like our religion to develop extra, and our nation has an excellent basis for that. However I believe that with the pope’s robust connection right here, extra individuals are going to begin coming again to church.”
Maria Marin, a parishioner at Our Girl of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, celebrated Pope Leo’s twin citizenship and talent to talk a number of languages, together with Spanish.
“I’m from Mexico, so the actual fact he speaks Spanish means so much to me,” Marin mentioned. “I believe his worldly expertise will assist him attain out to the younger whereas additionally with the ability to communicate to longtime parishioners like me throughout all backgrounds.”
Others expressed hope the brand new pope might strengthen ties between the Catholic Church and youthful folks.
Jeffrey Smith, who graduated from DePaul College on Saturday morning, went straight from his graduation to the Price Discipline celebration, nonetheless sporting his commencement robe.
“Catholicism has so much to do with my life,” Smith mentioned. “That is my seventeenth 12 months of Catholic training, so it means so much to graduate from DePaul right now when now we have an American pope from the town I grew up in. I do know I really feel impressed, and I hope others round my age do, too.”
In Saturday’s tackle, Pope Leo spoke on to younger folks, urging them to rediscover their religion after the isolating years of the pandemic.
“To as soon as once more, the younger people who find themselves gathered, I’d wish to say that you’re the promise of hope for therefore many people,” Pope Leo mentioned. “The world seems to be to you. … We would like you to come back collectively to share with us on this congregation, this church and in society by asserting a message of true hope, selling peace and selling concord amongst all folks.”
Pope Leo concluded with a blessing and a name for unity.
“Could you certainly be blessed as you collect collectively in celebration, might the Lord’s love and peace stumble upon each considered one of you, in your households, and will God bless all of you so that you simply would possibly all the time be reconciled by indicators of hope and peace all through the world,” Leo mentioned.
Maria Marin and her husband, Martin Marin, pose with a cardboard cutout of Pope Leo XIV in the course of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s celebration at Price Discipline on Saturday. Maria Marin, who comes from Mexico, celebrated Pope Leo’s twin citizenship and talent to talk a number of languages, together with Spanish.
