Considering how their Wild Card series ended, it looks like the Chicago White Sox are truly #blessed.
The team clinched its playoff series against the Houston Astros on September 30 after a two-game sweep at Daikin Park in Texas. But as many fans joked, the historic victory — the first postseason series win in more than two decades — may have been due in part to divine intervention. It was revealed that well-known White Sox fan Pope Leo XIV sent a special letter to the team ahead of high-stakes games.
According to the team’s social media accounts, the Pope wrote in his signed letter to White Sox president Jerry Reinsdorf, which was received on September 29, “I wish God Almighty’s blessings to you and your loved ones.”
The American League Wild Card series win marks the White Sox’s first postseason series victory since winning the World Series in 2005. Coincidentally, this championship was also played against the Astros. And oddly enough, Pope Leo was in the stands at the series opener, basing his Sox from Section 140, Row 19, Seat 2.
This time, the White Sox beat their Texans in just two games in the best-of-three series. The mail from the Pope, dated September 9, referenced a letter he wrote ahead of the Winter Olympic Games in February.
“As I have stated before, ‘Sports can be a true school of life where everyone can learn that abundance comes not from victory at all costs, but from sharing, respect for others and the joy of walking together,’” he wrote, referring to his February letter.
Pope added that he “hopes that the White Sox will continue to strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity between people and thus bear a hopeful testimony to the possibility of living and working together in peace.”
Pope Leo’s love for the White Sox is well documented. In June 2025, he represented his team by stepping out wearing a Sox hat while meeting newlyweds at the Vatican.
The South Side team had the pleasure of embracing its famous fan. Earlier in the season, the team gifted White Sox-themed papal mitres to fans who attended its Aug. 11 game against the Cincinnati Reds. Weeks later, South Side native Father Tom McCarthy also gifted one of the hats to the pope.
The Chicago White Sox will move on to the American League Division Series and face the Cleveland Guardians starting October 3.