White Sox invoke pope hats for fans and HR celebrations but can't hold on in extras vs. Reds

The pope hats were hard to miss from moment the doors at Rate Field opened to the public. Fans poured into the concourse proudly sporting the roughly 40,000 pope hats that were given away to the sellout crowd.

the ballpark is a holy place 🙏 pic.twitter.com/9bt203D94O

— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) August 11, 2026

Some fans dressed for the occasion as they posed for pictures on the concourse.

White Sox fans are excited about tonight’s “Pope Hat” giveaway!

🎥 @jon_greenbergpic.twitter.com/dO6fkwJHtz

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 11, 2026

When it was time for the first pitch, the Sox stuck with the theme.

Notable White Sox fan Sister Mary Joe Sobieck of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield took the mound with some flash and threw a breaking ball over the plate to get the festivities underway.

How many runs did Sister Mary Jo Sobieck give up tonight?

Nun.#Royals | #WhiteSoxpic.twitter.com/bkAKuvAtoD

— FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City (@FanDuelSN_KC) August 19, 2018

It wasn’t her first rodeo. Sister Mary Jo made headlines in 2019 with another strong first pitch for the White Sox.

Once the game was underway, the pope hats made their way to the White Sox dugout and were a featured prop in Brenton Doyle’s first-inning home run that gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead.

Brenton Doyle with his first #whitesox HR. And with a pope hat celebration pic.twitter.com/DwcWGdLqox

— Brooke Fletcher (@BrookeFletcher) August 11, 2026

Organist Nancy Faust, meanwhile, rocked pope gear from behind the keys.

Went to see Nancy Faust.
Edgar Quero homered.
Got to see this in person. pic.twitter.com/t8m1kotdeY

— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) August 12, 2026

Alas, the good times didn’t translate to a win at the end for the home team. The Reds rallied from a 4-0 fourth inning deficit to force extra innings, and an Elly De La Cruz sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th was enough to secure a Cincinnati win.