Supporters of Pope Leo XIV gathered Saturday, not in a cathedral or a church, but a baseball stadium the pope once frequented years as Robert Francis Prevost.

Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, was quickly discovered to be a White Sox fan after his elevation to head of the Catholic Church earlier this year. The team has leaned in, with murals of Leo adorning the stadium and fans often showing up to games dressed as His Holiness.

In his first words directed specifically to Americans, Pope Leo XIV told young people on Saturday how to find hope and meaning in their lives through God and in service to others.

"What does the pope think about us being related? That's my question," one cousin said. "What does he think of us because we're Afro American?" She plans to write a letter inviting Leo to her home if he ever visits New Orleans.

At an event celebrating the city's native son, Cardinal Blase Cupich spoke on immigration and the undocumented in his "Sermon on the Mound."

Pope Leo XIV stressed the importance to society of sport in his Angelus address in the Vatican on Sunday. Sport was more than physical achievement, but could also "become an important means of reconciliation and encounter: between peoples and within communities,

Recognize that God is present,” he said in a recorded video to a crowd gathered at the home stadium of the White Sox.