High Church on Chicago’s South Side

Bob, you are wearing a dramatic, beautiful pope hat that is black with gold and this White Sox in the middle of it.

It's got black pieces hanging to the side.

Tell us about the moment you walked in to White Sox Stadium and you were handed this hat.

So I actually was not handed.

I was in the press box, so I didn't get it till late in the game.

But I walked in the, into the stands after arriving early in the afternoon, and people were rushing in.

They were in these hats.

They were in White Sox garb.

But the hat is one...

It was a promotional giveaway, 40,000 of these hats made.

They're shaped like a p- papal miter, and they're in honor of Pope Leo, who is a White Sox fan, probably the most famous baseball fan in America.

And what did you feel in that moment when you walked in and saw the crowd?

There was just enthusiasm.

There's people in line in pope gear.

Some people had made their own pope hats.

There's Pope Leo everywhere, like the, in, in line for the beer and hot dogs, they're wearing these things.

There's a nun in line, and she's chatting with everybody as she's getting her hot dog.

Folks are just kind of smi- everyone is smiling, 'cause it feels like, a little bit like you're in church, but also like embracing this, uh, figure of Pope Leo, who is, who is, uh, because he's just like one of them.

He's a Southsider.

And so South, the South Side of Chicago, Chicago is a very Catholic city.

South Side in particular is very Catholic.

So South C- Side working class, um, Catholicism was on display in, in, in really in all its glory.

And for you, this was like the bringing together of two of your favorite things, um, as a religion reporter and someone who loves to think about and talk about religion, and then baseball, which you are a longtime baseball fan.

Uh, how for you personally was it when you heard that this was gonna happen and that you were gonna get to report on it?

Well, the first thing [laughs] I was like, "This is gonna be awesome, and how do I get, how do I get credentials?" So I got credentials.