"Humanity is greatly diminished whenever the unborn, or the undocumented, the unemployed, the unhealthy are excluded," Cardinal Blase Cupich said.

“We want to celebrate that he’s not only from America, but he’s from Chicago, and he’s from the South Side,” said Rose Carlson, 42, as she filed into the ballpark with her husband, Eric.

The ceremony at Rate Field was enticing since it would include Pope Leo’s first public remarks to Chicagoans since he was declared a certified-fresh Sox fan.