A baseball, a rosary, White Sox fans, the Pope

 

How a baseball rosary found its way to Pope Leo XIV

written by John Knebels

During a papal audience at the Vatican June 24, 2026, former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski presents Pope Leo XIV with “the Ball” -- from the final out of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. (OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media)

(OSV News) — About two weeks after what he calls the most surreal moment of his life, Kevin Workman remains in awe.

That’s no embellishment. After all, imagine being a humble noncelebrity living a quiet life as a devoted family man and suddenly realizing that Pope Leo XIV actually knows your name and possesses something you created just for him.

“It’s just amazing,” Workman told OSV News. “Absolutely blown away.”

Sports rosaries

Workman, a 65-year-old human resources manager who resides in New Haven, Indiana, became a Catholic in 1981. He married his wife, Julie, in 1982, and together they have raised eight children and welcomed 19 grandchildren, with No. 20 due in March.

Seven years ago, Workman began making rosaries as a hobby, giving them away at his parish, St. Peter’s, on the southeast side of Fort Wayne. He later expanded his craft by learning to make wire rosaries and eventually began selling them online, where Notre Dame fans became some of his most devoted customers.

“They’ve been sold to every state in the country,” Workman said.

Earning some spending money was never the main objective.

“I feel that the state of the world today needs many, many prayers, and the rosary is the most powerful prayer,” Workman said. “I feel it has become a mission of mine that has developed through opportunities and grace.”

A special commission

Then, on April 18, came the request of his life.

“Catholic Athletes for Christ” commissioned Workman to create a Chicago White Sox-themed rosary intended specifically for the pope. After a few arm pinches to assure himself that he wasn’t dreaming, Workman immediately and emphatically embraced the assignment.

On June 24, Workman’s meticulously completed work reached the Vatican through a visit by former Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Along with presenting Workman’s rosary, Pierzynski gifted the pope — an ardent White Sox fan — the baseball from the final out of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.

Then known simply as Father Robert Prevost, the future Pope Leo had attended the White Sox’s 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros in person. Four days later, on Oct. 26, 2005, he celebrated his beloved White Sox’s first World Series championship since 1917.

Workman said he was “in tears” when he first learned the rosary had reached the pope.

“This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened in my little world,” Workman said.

White Sox fan and pope

After his meeting with the pope, Pierzynski spoke with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and recounted the experience.  “I know he was at the game. It was just sitting on my wall,” said Pierzynski, a colleague of Rosenthal’s at Fox Sports and the Foul Territory Network. “I was like, ‘It’s better at the Vatican with him than sitting on my wall.’ I figured it was the perfect thing.”

Pope Leo reacted with visible excitement after receiving the baseball from Pierzynski.

“Oh my gosh,” Pierzynski said. “He was like, ‘This is unbelievable.’ He was like, ‘No way, this is the ball?’ And he literally said, ‘I was at Game 2, too. But nobody knows that. They didn’t find me.'”

Before leaving, Pierzynski reminded the pope that the White Sox have enjoyed quite a resurgence after several disappointing seasons.

“It was kind of as I was walking away, I said, ‘Hey, White Sox are in first place,'” Pierzynski said. “He just looked at me and goes, ‘Oh, I’m watching and paying attention, don’t worry.’ And he just kind of smiled at me.”

Workman hopes to receive a photo of Pope Leo receiving the rosary. If not, the unfathomable course of events will suffice.

“To think the pope is going to be using my rosary to pray,” Workman said, “just boggles my mind.”

John Knebels writes for OSV News from suburban Philadelphia.

A couple of MLB players defend the Church as the Dodgers promote anti-Catholic hate

 

Kershaw disagrees with Dodgers’ decision to reinstate gay ‘nun’ group for Pride Night award

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw says he disagrees with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision to welcome a satirical LGBTQ+ group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at the team’s annual Pride Night.

Kershaw told The Los Angeles Times on Monday that the team’s decision to honor the group after it rescinded its original invitation prompted him to approach the Dodgers about expediting the announcement that the team was bringing back Christian Faith and Family Day later this season.

“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw said. “Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (by the Dodgers).”

Kershaw announced via Twitter last Friday that Christian Faith and Family Day will be held July 30 when the Dodgers face the Cincinnati Reds. The last time the Dodgers held it was 2019.

Kershaw, who has been with the organization since being drafted in 2006, said his issues were with the Sisters and not the LGBTQ+ community. He also added the he will not boycott Pride Night on June 16 when the Dodgers host the San Francisco Giants.

“This has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community or Pride or anything like that,” said Kershaw, who held a players-only meeting in the clubhouse before Monday’s game. “This is simply a group that was making fun of a religion, that I don’t agree with.”

The Dodgers rescinded their original invitation to the Sisters on May 17 after receiving backlash from some conservative Roman Catholics and politicians, including Florida’s Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who accused the group of mocking nuns and the Christian faith.

However, the Dodgers’ decision sparked its own backlash from LGBTQ+ groups around the country, with some deciding to pull out of Pride Night. The Dodgers reversed their decision five days later and welcomed them back.

The Sisters, a group of mainly men who dress as nuns, is a charity, protest and performance group founded in 1979 in San Francisco. Its Los Angeles chapter will receive the Community Hero Award.

The group denied it was anti-Catholic. On its website, the group said it uses “humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit.”

Trevor Williams, a pitcher for the Washington Nationals, also criticized the Dodgers on Tuesday, posting a statement on Twitter saying he was “deeply troubled” by the decision.

The Nationals are in Los Angeles this week to face the Dodgers.

“To invite and honor a group that makes a blatant and deeply offensive mockery of my religion, and the religion of over 4 million people in Los Angeles county alone, undermines the values of respect and inclusivity that should be upheld by any organization,” Williams wrote on his account to his more than 43,000 followers.

“Creating an environment in which one group feels celebrated and honored at the expense of another is counterproductive and wrong. It is a clear violation of the Dodgers’ Discrimination Policy, which explicitly states that any conduct or attire at the ballpark that is deemed to be indecent or prejudice against any particular group (or religion) is not tolerated.”

Pride Nights have caused some division on the sports landscape in recent years. Last season, five pitchers with the Tampa Bay Rays cited their Christian faith in refusing to wear Pride jerseys.

The pro-death gang will stop at nothing, even baseball

 

Colorado baseball team cancels event sponsored by pro-life groups hours before first pitch

By Cassy Fiano-Chesser

A family night sponsored by two Colorado pro-life organizations for a minor league baseball team was canceled just hours before the game was scheduled to start, and after the organizations had already spent thousands of dollars and expended extra time increasing ticket sales for the event.

The Rocky Mountain Vibes plays in the Pioneer League, which is an MLB Partner League. Save the Storks and Pikes Peak Citizens for Life sponsored a family night at UC Health Park, helping to sell over 3,000 tickets for the game.

According to Diane Ferraro, CEO of Save the Storks, the Vibes reached out to them regarding sponsorship. “So they were very aware of what we do and what we stand for,” she said in an interview with Live Action News. “Normally they’ll have 1,000 people at one of their games, and because we had been helping to promote it, they had over 3,000 tickets sold.”

Yet Ferraro said she was informed that team owners had been receiving calls from people who said they were canceling their season tickets over the pro-life sponsorships, though Ferraro believes there may be other reasons for the event’s cancellation. “We are a very pro-life area in Colorado Springs. Focus on the Family is here, Compassion International is here, there are five military bases here… Colorado Springs is very conservative, though the state is blue,” she said. “UC Health owns the stadium and we’ve heard they were a big part of the decision.”

Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Matt Hammitt and his son, Bowen, who recently sang the National Anthem at a Detroit Tigers game, were also scheduled to sing at the event. Their invitations to perform were rescinded as well. Save the Storks’ Community Relations Manger, Luke Vercollone, had been scheduled to throw out the first pitch.

Using Baseball to send a great message to Catholics

This pastoral letter by Bishop John Barres from the Diocese of Rockville Center is brilliant.  He wrote this letter with the 1969 New York Mets, World Series winning New York Mets, in mind.  This fall it is the 50th anniversary of the Mets beating the highly-favored Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 1 in that famous 1969 World Series.

The Bishop made lots of important points about evangelization, bringing the young and the lost back to the Church all from the perspective of how the Mets 1969 championship brings joy and excitement to even those fans who were not even born yet.  It is a great read and one I hope you will take the time to actually read this.  It is extremely well written and drives home several points in way anybody can relate to; enjoy:

https://www.drvc.org/wp-content/uploads/Pastoral_Letter_Ya_Gotta_Believe_2019_Final.pdf