Pope Leo XIV will make a virtual appearance in his hometown of Chicago on Saturday in his first address to U.S. audiences since he was elected pope in May.

The event will be held at a location dear to the pope's heart -- Rate Field, the South Side ballpark that is home to the Chicago White Sox.

According to the Archdiocese of Chicago, Pope Leo "will greet Chicagoland and offer the first broadcast of his special video message to the young people of the world. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich will celebrate a Catholic mass afterward. The event will be live streamed on YouTube.

"Pope Leo's message of peace, unity and the key to a meaningful life has resonated deeply around the globe. This celebration offers a unique opportunity for the people from Chicago and beyond to come together in shared pride for one of our own," the archdiocese said in a statement.

Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, is no stranger to Rate Field. His brother John Prevost confirmed to reporters the day after his election that his brother is a long-time White Sox fan. The future pope was captured on video cheering for the team in Game 1of the 2005 World Series.

On Wednesday, the White Sox posted a photo on X showing the pope wearing a White Sox hat during his weekly general audience. The first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church was "representing his favorite squad," said the team.

"It's great. I love the support. Need it," White Sox Manager Will Venable told MLB.com Wednesday. Rookie reliever Grant Taylor added that Pope Leo's support is good for the game. "Worldwide, baseball is growing a lot more. But in Europe, it's not very big. So if he's over there in the Vatican wearing a White Sox hat, maybe all of them will become White Sox fans. Grow the fanbase a little bit," he said.

The team plans to unveil before Saturday a "graphic installation" near where Pope Leo sat during the 2005 World Series.

Pope Leo was ordained in 1981 and is a member of the Order of Saint Augustine. He was born in Bronzeville on the city's South Side and grew up in Dolton, a southwest suburb. His brother John Prevost was a long-time principal at a Catholic high school just a short walk from Rate Field.

Supporters of Pope Leo XIV gathered Saturday, not in a cathedral or a neighborhood church, but a baseball stadium the pope once frequented years as Robert Francis Prevost, a South Side native and White Sox fan.

The afternoon event, which stretched nearly three hours, marked the new pope's first message to North America, and it was designed to both celebrate his roots in the Chicago area and to speak directly to young people.

In a taped message from the Vatican recorded exclusively to the audience at Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, Pope Leo acknowledged the difficulties young people faced during and since the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to "moments of anxiety, of loneliness" for people suffering more from "depression or sadness." He encouraged people to embrace local parishes where they can "discover the love of god is truly healing and it brings hope."

"You are the promise of hope for so many of us. The world looks to you … we need you," he said. "We have to look beyond our egotistical ways to promote hope."

"That light … on the horizon is not easy to see and yet as we grow in our unity, we can discover that light growing brighter and brighter and we can become that message of hope to promote peace and unity throughout the world," he said.

He encouraged people "to do something in our own lives to serve one another." "In that service to others … we may find the true meaning in our life," he said.

The event began with two national anthems -- one from Peru and the other from the United States, two countries that can claim the pope as a legal citizen -- and ended by a full infield mass led by Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich.

"Wow, I think I'm going to remember this moment as the 'sermon of the mound,'" Cupich said during the mass.

Speakers preceding the pope's address reminisced from a stage in center field about his connection to the area. Pope Leo attended St. Mary's of the Assumption, a now shuttered South Side grade school and he grew up in Dalton, a southwest suburb. He later earned his Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park. He was ordained the following year. He started his ministry joining the Augustinian Province of Chicago.

Sister Dianne Bergant, the pope's former teacher at Catholic Theological Union, told the ballpark audience that she remembered him as "a good student" and said she retained grade lists spanning her 45 years in the classroom, so she has "proof" of his academic success. On the day in May when the world learned of his election, she said she was "overwhelmed with emotion" but added, it wasn't happiness she felt, but something more.

"It was just a kind of awesomeness. Somebody's gotta be pope, no question about that. Why not him? They have to come from somewhere. Why not Chicago?" she asked the crowd. "It says something about the education he got."

Father John Merkelis, the pope's former high school classmate, said he continues an email correspondence with the pope. "I had emailed him night before conclave. I told him whatever happens I'll still like you," Merkelis said. "He said he's sleeping well because an American is not going to be a pope."

While he acknowledged that the pope's newfound global notoriety means that there will no longer be opportunities to go out for "pizza and beer" as they had done in the past, the world will benefit from someone so "down to earth."

"He's a bridge builder," he said. "He's deliberate. He's thoughtful. He will lift all sides, but he will make up his own mind. He's a prayerful man. He's a regular guy."

After the election, when it was discovered that Pope Leo had attended the 2005 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros — sitting in section 140, row 19, specifically — the franchise has embraced all things pontiff. T-shirts with the number 14 on the back were for sale on the ballpark grounds, and the team unveiled a mural bearing his likeness. This week the team posted on X a photo of the pope wearing a White Sox cap given to him earlier in the week.

White Sox Senior Vice President Brooks Boyer acknowledged that the number 14 is special in Chicago baseball lore — it's a number shared by both Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks and former Chicago White Sox team captain Paul Konerko, Boyer said. "It's clear there are many parallel characteristics between the Vatican and baseball and Chicago when it comes to that special number," he said.

Boyer publicly invited the pope to "throw out a ceremonial pitch" and said the team sent a ball to the Vatican "to get his arm prepared."

"The mound is waiting. Your crowd is certainly ready. And your team the White Sox is here with open arms," he said. "You pick the date."