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.
CHICAGO -- Pope Leo XIV has an open invite to return to watch the White Sox at Rate Field at any moment he wants. Advance notice doesn’t sound as if it will be necessary for the world-famous native of Dolton, Ill.
“He has an open invite to throw out a first pitch,” said Brooks Boyer, the White Sox executive vice president, chief revenue and marketing officer. “Heck, maybe we’ll let him get an at-bat.”
That invite was pretty much understood before the fanfare of Monday’s special pregame event, where a graphic installation was unveiled on the concourse wall near Section 140 to honor the Pope, who attended Game 1 of the 2005 White Sox World Series sweep of the Astros. The Pope was at that game with the late Ed Schmit, who passed away in 2020, but was a close friend of Robert Prevost, known as Father Bob to their family.
All five of Ed’s children were among the many family members in attendance Monday, including Nick, who remains the account holder associated with these important tickets. Before they could go forth with this honor, there was one point of information the White Sox needed to know.
“We asked one question: Where did he sit? The answer was very clear. It was seat 2,” Boyer said. “That was his seat as he sat next to the patriarch of the family.
“For us to acknowledge the section by having the Pope be part of our history, for us to be able to put something as quickly as we have been able to do, to put this on the ballpark is something very special for us. It only adds to our 125 years of history at the park.”
The White Sox internal design services team put together the mural, so it’s a graphic that goes on the wall and was not painted. Ten camera crews were in attendance Monday, as well as numerous other reporters, doing their reports from the seats where the Pope, Ed Jr., Ed III, and Ed IV sat during that momentous contest 20 years ago.
“I do remember two things from that game,” said Ed Schmit IV, who was 5 years old at the time of the game. “I remember Jermaine Dye’s home run and I remember my dad was getting phone calls right after the game saying we were on TV for the last out. I knew the video existed.
“When all this transpired, I looked back and I said, ‘Is that the Pope next to me?’ Sure enough it was. It was awesome to see that. I’m glad I can share that with people. I don’t want anyone to think he’s a Cubs fan because he’s not a Cubs fan. The Pope is a White Sox fan. We have proof. He was at Game 1 of the World Series, and everyone knows now.”
Schmit’s grandfather met Father Bob through their work together at St. Rita of Cascia High School on the South Side of Chicago. Baseball fandom has always been a generational phenomenon, as Boyer reinforced Monday, with the Schmit family being part of the White Sox family since 1977.
“They understand what it is to be a White Sox fan,” Boyer said. “There’s some pleasure that comes along with it and there’s been some pain.”
One of the family members added, “A lot of pain” with a laugh. But another family quickly countered with, “But a lot of fun.”
“I just never thought I would see in my lifetime a North American Pope, let alone a White Sox fan from the South Side of Chicago that is among us. He’s real,” Boyer said. “If you got a glimpse of him, it was magical.
“These people know him on a personal basis. It’s pretty amazing. You thought when the sitting President was a White Sox fan, President [Barack] Obama, it probably can’t get much higher than that. These guys brought us the Pope.”
To see Father Bob from Chicago become the Pope is no surprise to the Schmit family. Their father frequently predicted that honor would come his way.
“Right around the time my dad was passing, Father Bob made sure he spoke with him,” said Heidi Skokal, Ed Schmit’s daughter, who began to tear up as she told the story. “He said to Father Bob, ‘I know you are going to be the next Pope. I might not be here to see it, but I will definitely be looking down.’ I’m sure he is today.”
“A lot of this is about the White Sox,” Ed Schmit IV said. “It should be more about what kind of guy the Pope is. You look at some of the things he’s done with his missions. It’s incredible. He’s a great guy, kind-hearted.”