On Aug. 11, 2026, tens of thousands of people attended a sold-out “Pope Hat Night” game hosted by the Chicago White Sox, capitalizing on the connection to the team’s most famous fan who happens to be the successor of Peter now presiding over the universal Church.
During the fifth inning, led by Chicago priest Father Tom Hurley, everyone took part in a stadium-wide “sign of peace.”
“We offer each other a sign of peace because we want to bring peace to the world, and I think the Pope would really love that, whether you’re Catholic or not,” Father Hurley said into a microphone.
Videos shared on social media captured the moment when 40,000 smiling people, most of them with the giveaway “novelty” black-and-gold pope “mitres” on their heads, turned to shake hands with the fans seated around them.
Golly! What a wonderful way to show off one of the best things about being a Catholic! You might have been tempted to forward one of the videos to all your non-Catholic friends with a note attached: “It’s what we do. You’re welcome to join us at Mass on Sunday!”
Except that’s not what we do. Not anymore, at least.
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