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High church on Chicago’s South Side

August 17, 2026 · 1 min read

Pope hats, hot dogs and Holy ground.

(RNS) — Baseball has long been called a kind of church. It has its own calendar and rituals, its sacred places and inherited traditions. Its faithful gather at appointed times, sing familiar songs, share food, pass stories from one generation to the next and keep believing through seasons of disappointment. Like religion, baseball asks people to live with failure, practice hope and trust that renewal is always possible.

RNS Reporter Bob Smietana was recently in Chicago   for a remarkable night with the White Sox. But this was not just any old night of baseball. This was high church!

RELATED: At Sox’ stadium Mass, Chicago celebrates Pope Leo XIV, its native son RELATED: DWhat a pope from Chicago means for the world of Catholicism RELATED: Catholic Chicagoans celebrate as native son Pope Leo XIV becomes first American pope

This transcript was generated using AI tools and may contain minor transcription errors.

AMANDA HENDERSON: From RNS and the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture, this is Complexified, a podcast for the religiously curious and politically frustrated. I’m Amanda Henderson. Baseball has long…

Source: Religion News Service  ·  Read the full story →
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