July 3, 2025 • 7 mins
Could the Church finally name a patron saint for baseball? Pope Leo XIV, a devoted White Sox fan, might be the man to do it—and Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus and an early baseball standout, is a top candidate. We explore McGivney’s deep ties to the sport, from seminary box scores to charitable Little League fields, and what it would take to canonize him. Plus, the linguistic misfire that nearly sparked a medieval schism—and what it means for Pope Leo today.
Get the show without ads. Five bucks. For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple Podcasts app which says UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus.
Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!
Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!
We now have Merch! FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there’s free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com
Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com
Get the show without ads. Five bucks. For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple Podcasts app which says UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus.
Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!
Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!
We now have Merch! FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there’s free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com
Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calaroga Shark media. A fascinating possibility has emerged in Vatican circles.
Could Pope Leo, the baseball loving pontiff from Chicago, become
the Pope to name the first official patron saint of
America's pastime. The White Sox fan, who has worn his
(00:23):
team's signature cap during papal audiences and led White Sox
chants in Saint Peter's Square, may have the perfect candidate
already on his radar. Baseball currently lacks an official patron saint,
a holy figure recognized by the Catholic Church as a
special intercessor for the sport, its players, coaches, and fans. However,
(00:45):
Pope Leo has the opportunity to change this through the
canonization process, particularly with one compelling candidate who combines both
sanctity and a deep connection to the game. That candidate
is Blessed Father Michael mc givney, most famous as the
founder of the Knights of Columbus, but also closely linked
to baseball as both a player and promoter. The parish
(01:07):
priest who was beatified on October thirty first, twenty twenty,
represents a unique intersection of Catholic faith and American sporting culture.
Blessed mc givney's association with baseball stems from his time
and place in history. Born in eighteen fifty two in Connecticut,
he came of age just seven years after the Nickerbocker
(01:28):
Baseball Club had established the modern form of the sport
in neighbouring New York. Like many young men of his generation,
he not only played baseball but excelled at it. Historian
Douglas Brinkley, principal author of mc givney's biography titled Parish Priest,
described him as a naturally talented ballplayer. Evidence of his
skill appears in a May twentieth, eighteen seventy two box score.
(01:52):
While he attended Our Lady of Angels Seminary at Niagara University,
McGivney started in a game between Connecticut and New York
Brook Seminarians, playing left field, batting clean up, and scoring
three times in a victory for the Charter Oaks Club,
where he also served as vice president. As a parish
priest at Saint Mary's in New Haven and Saint Thomas
(02:14):
in Thomaston, Connecticut, Blessed mc givney organized baseball games at
parish picnics. His biography suggests he may have served as
third base coach for the Knights of Columbus Council team
at Saint Thomas, demonstrating his continued involvement with the sport
even during his priestly ministry. Andrew Fowler, a communications specialist
(02:35):
who has written extensively about Blessed mc givney's connection to baseball,
believes the priest saw deeper value in the game beyond
mere entertainment. McGivney viewed baseball as a means of building
fraternity and community, which aligns perfectly with the mission of
the Knights of Columbus organization he founded. The Knights of
Columbus continued promoting baseball even after mc givney's death in
(02:57):
eighteen ninetyzation formed clubs and leagues across the country during
the eighteen nineties, with Chicago's league recognized as the largest
at the century's turn, featuring forty two teams across five divisions.
The Knights also used baseball to support charitable works during
the nineteen twenties and thirties. They organised exhibition games featuring
(03:19):
Big league player and council member Babe Ruth, with proceeds
supporting those in need. More recently, Knights of Columbus councils
in the Archdiocese of Detroit raised approximately sixty five thousand
dollars in June twenty twenty four to build a Little
League field for athletes with special needs, appropriately named mc
(03:40):
givney Field. For Blessed mc givney to become baseball's patron saint,
two significant steps must occur. First, he needs canonization, requiring
one additional miracle attributed to his intercession to be approved
by the Vatican. Second, after canonization, Saint Michael mc givney
(04:00):
would need official recognition by the Church as baseball's patron saint.
Having a dedicated patron saint for a single sport might
seem overly specific, but precedent exists. Saint Luigi Scrossoppi, a
nineteenth century Italian priest who encouraged children at his schools
and orphanages to participate in sports, was named soccer's patron
(04:21):
Saint in twenty ten by two European bishops with Vatican
Congregation support. A reminder, we are now on a twice
weekly schedule. As Pope Leo begins his summer retreat to
Castel Gandolfo. On Thursdays, we'll continue bringing you the latest
(04:42):
Pope Leo stories and Vatican news updates, while Sundays will
feature our historical storytelling series exploring fascinating papal tales throughout
the centuries. This week we'll take a look at the
early papacy emerges as a historical mystery. This episode examines
the contested evidence around them Peter's immediate successors, Linus, Anacletus
(05:03):
and Clement, whose leadership established the foundations of papal succession
amid persecution and uncertainty. You'll find that in the feed
on Sunday. When Pope Adrian the Fourth born Nicholas Breakspear
became the first and until recently only English speaking pope
in eleven fifty four, his native tongue offered him no
(05:23):
particular advantage. At the time, English wasn't a global language.
It was a regional tongue spoken by just a few
million people. Even among Englishmen, the language was in transition
from Old English to Middle English, meaning Adrian's speech would
have sounded foreign even to many of his contemporaries. More practically,
the working language of the Church in European diplomacy, was Latin,
(05:45):
which Adrian spoke fluently, but even fluency couldn't protect him
from a costly misstep. In eleven fifty seven, he wrote
to Holy Roman Emperor Frederic barbarossa urging action over the
murder of a Scandinavian arch bishop. In the letter, Adrian
referred to the empire as a beneficium, a Latin word
that could mean a thief implying feudal subordination, a benefice,
(06:10):
a church office, or simply a good deed. Adrian meant
the latter, but Frederick's court took it as a grave insult,
interpreting it as the pope claiming overlordship. The fallout helped
trigger a church imperial rift that led to a decade's
long chism after Adrian's death, which brings us to Pope
Leo the fourteenth. While some may describe him as the
(06:32):
first modern English speaking pope, he is not the first ever.
That distinction belongs to Adrian. But unlike his twelfth century predecessor,
Leo presides over a world where English is the dominant
global language spoken by a quarter of the planet. Still,
the lesson from Adrian's era holds true. Even the clearest
(06:53):
language can fail without clarity of intent, careful diplomacy, and
good judgment.
Calaroga Shark media. A fascinating possibility has emerged in Vatican circles.
Could Pope Leo, the baseball loving pontiff from Chicago, become
the Pope to name the first official patron saint of
America's pastime. The White Sox fan, who has worn his
(00:23):
team's signature cap during papal audiences and led White Sox
chants in Saint Peter's Square, may have the perfect candidate
already on his radar. Baseball currently lacks an official patron saint,
a holy figure recognized by the Catholic Church as a
special intercessor for the sport, its players, coaches, and fans. However,
(00:45):
Pope Leo has the opportunity to change this through the
canonization process, particularly with one compelling candidate who combines both
sanctity and a deep connection to the game. That candidate
is Blessed Father Michael mc givney, most famous as the
founder of the Knights of Columbus, but also closely linked
to baseball as both a player and promoter. The parish
(01:07):
priest who was beatified on October thirty first, twenty twenty,
represents a unique intersection of Catholic faith and American sporting culture.
Blessed mc givney's association with baseball stems from his time
and place in history. Born in eighteen fifty two in Connecticut,
he came of age just seven years after the Nickerbocker
(01:28):
Baseball Club had established the modern form of the sport
in neighbouring New York. Like many young men of his generation,
he not only played baseball but excelled at it. Historian
Douglas Brinkley, principal author of mc givney's biography titled Parish Priest,
described him as a naturally talented ballplayer. Evidence of his
skill appears in a May twentieth, eighteen seventy two box score.
(01:52):
While he attended Our Lady of Angels Seminary at Niagara University,
McGivney started in a game between Connecticut and New York
Brook Seminarians, playing left field, batting clean up, and scoring
three times in a victory for the Charter Oaks Club,
where he also served as vice president. As a parish
priest at Saint Mary's in New Haven and Saint Thomas
(02:14):
in Thomaston, Connecticut, Blessed mc givney organized baseball games at
parish picnics. His biography suggests he may have served as
third base coach for the Knights of Columbus Council team
at Saint Thomas, demonstrating his continued involvement with the sport
even during his priestly ministry. Andrew Fowler, a communications specialist
(02:35):
who has written extensively about Blessed mc givney's connection to baseball,
believes the priest saw deeper value in the game beyond
mere entertainment. McGivney viewed baseball as a means of building
fraternity and community, which aligns perfectly with the mission of
the Knights of Columbus organization he founded. The Knights of
Columbus continued promoting baseball even after mc givney's death in
(02:57):
eighteen ninetyzation formed clubs and leagues across the country during
the eighteen nineties, with Chicago's league recognized as the largest
at the century's turn, featuring forty two teams across five divisions.
The Knights also used baseball to support charitable works during
the nineteen twenties and thirties. They organised exhibition games featuring
(03:19):
Big league player and council member Babe Ruth, with proceeds
supporting those in need. More recently, Knights of Columbus councils
in the Archdiocese of Detroit raised approximately sixty five thousand
dollars in June twenty twenty four to build a Little
League field for athletes with special needs, appropriately named mc
(03:40):
givney Field. For Blessed mc givney to become baseball's patron saint,
two significant steps must occur. First, he needs canonization, requiring
one additional miracle attributed to his intercession to be approved
by the Vatican. Second, after canonization, Saint Michael mc givney
(04:00):
would need official recognition by the Church as baseball's patron saint.
Having a dedicated patron saint for a single sport might
seem overly specific, but precedent exists. Saint Luigi Scrossoppi, a
nineteenth century Italian priest who encouraged children at his schools
and orphanages to participate in sports, was named soccer's patron
(04:21):
Saint in twenty ten by two European bishops with Vatican
Congregation support. A reminder, we are now on a twice
weekly schedule. As Pope Leo begins his summer retreat to
Castel Gandolfo. On Thursdays, we'll continue bringing you the latest
(04:42):
Pope Leo stories and Vatican news updates, while Sundays will
feature our historical storytelling series exploring fascinating papal tales throughout
the centuries. This week we'll take a look at the
early papacy emerges as a historical mystery. This episode examines
the contested evidence around them Peter's immediate successors, Linus, Anacletus
(05:03):
and Clement, whose leadership established the foundations of papal succession
amid persecution and uncertainty. You'll find that in the feed
on Sunday. When Pope Adrian the Fourth born Nicholas Breakspear
became the first and until recently only English speaking pope
in eleven fifty four, his native tongue offered him no
(05:23):
particular advantage. At the time, English wasn't a global language.
It was a regional tongue spoken by just a few
million people. Even among Englishmen, the language was in transition
from Old English to Middle English, meaning Adrian's speech would
have sounded foreign even to many of his contemporaries. More practically,
the working language of the Church in European diplomacy, was Latin,
(05:45):
which Adrian spoke fluently, but even fluency couldn't protect him
from a costly misstep. In eleven fifty seven, he wrote
to Holy Roman Emperor Frederic barbarossa urging action over the
murder of a Scandinavian arch bishop. In the letter, Adrian
referred to the empire as a beneficium, a Latin word
that could mean a thief implying feudal subordination, a benefice,
(06:10):
a church office, or simply a good deed. Adrian meant
the latter, but Frederick's court took it as a grave insult,
interpreting it as the pope claiming overlordship. The fallout helped
trigger a church imperial rift that led to a decade's
long chism after Adrian's death, which brings us to Pope
Leo the fourteenth. While some may describe him as the
(06:32):
first modern English speaking pope, he is not the first ever.
That distinction belongs to Adrian. But unlike his twelfth century predecessor,
Leo presides over a world where English is the dominant
global language spoken by a quarter of the planet. Still,
the lesson from Adrian's era holds true. Even the clearest
(06:53):
language can fail without clarity of intent, careful diplomacy, and
good judgment.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.