Interchange · GIA Publications

Habemus Homerun!

July 1, 2025·1 hr 24 min·5 clips

A Chicagoan pope, a Catholic Theological Union graduate, and a jaw that never quite comes back down.

1. Interchange’s "Habemus Homerun!" focuses on the June 14 celebratory liturgy for Pope Leo XIV at Raitt Field in Chicago. 2. Kate Williams hosts the conversation with Sam Polo, Matt Merkt, Michael Ward, and Peter Kolar, all of whom worked on the committee planning the Mass. 3. The episode asks what the White Sox Stadium liturgy meant for Chicago and what it was for as a church event. 4. Sam Polo describes learning about the election while getting a massage and listening to live coverage on his phone. 5. Matt Merkt remembers a coffee-shop work session turning into three and a half hours of watching white smoke coverage on his laptop. 6. Michael Ward says his archdiocesan meetings ended as soon as white smoke appeared, because nobody could stay focused. 7. Peter Kolar recalls being at home with a sick child, then watching the election while dealing with a workday that stopped completely. 8. One speaker says the election of a Chicagoan pope still felt surreal two months later. 9. Another guest links the reaction to Pope Francis’s death and the uncertainty that followed the conclave. 10. The committee says the first Mass-at-Sox-Park text came with a deadline of the next Saturday before the date was pushed back to June. 11. The guests describe wrestling with communion flow, seating blocks, altar placement, and whether a canopy or side altars were needed. 12. Sam Polo says the group first looked at any stadium in Chicago before Raitt Field became the venue. 13. The committee notes that Beyoncé’s schedule and Chicago PD staffing affected the venue decision. 14. The group says the liturgy had to speak the language of camera crews, sound teams, and people who do not use church terms like "ambo." 15. Matt Merkt says he ended up coordinating sound and text communication from the field seating because the musicians and altar were too far apart. 16. The guests praise the Sox crew and Technotrix for making the live stream and audio look and sound seamless. 17. Michael Ward describes the planning as a strange combination of a familiar Mass and a scale they had never attempted. 18. Peter Kolar says the event turned a baseball stadium into an open-air sacred space marked by joy, diversity, and blue sky after morning mist. 19. People interested in Chicago liturgy, parish music, and the new pope will likely care most. 20. Listeners wanting a general Vatican recap without local liturgy detail may skip it.

As heard by us

A warm look at how a city-sized liturgy became a moment of joy, memory, and faith.

The piece works best when it keeps the Chicago church story grounded in people rather than occasion. A hometown pope, a celebratory liturgy, and the committee behind it give the story shape, while the weather nerves, civic surprise, and the practical work of making a public Mass…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the Chicago papal moment told through liturgy, weather anxiety, and the nerves of a stadium-scale planning team.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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