God-fearing patriots will now have a choice to make on Saturday between watching Donald Trump’s military and birthday parade, and a special address by Pope Leo XIV.
The pontiff has announced plans to screen a video message and mass in his hometown of Chicago at the same time that the president’s multi-million dollar party will be happening in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the event, which is to be held at the Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox (Pope Leo’s favorite team), are being sold online at $5 each. As of Wednesday the 40,000-sea stadium was almost entirely sold out.
A prayer service, which is reportedly directed at young people of the world, begins at 2:30 p.m local time and mass will be held at 4:00 p.m. Both will be live streamed.
Some 700 miles away in Washington, D.C., the atmosphere will be somewhat different.
Trump’s military parade is set to feature around 6,600 Army troops and military equipment such as a WWII-vintage B-25 bomber, a P-1 fighter and Huey helicopters used in the Vietnam War, as well as 25 M1 Abrams tanks, 28 Stryker armored vehicles, and four Paladin self-propelled artillery vehicles.
Leo was elected to become The Holy See last month, and prior to his ascension was known to have disagreed with the president and vice president J.D. Vance in social media posts published while still a cardinal.
The papacy has also criticized anti-immigrant rhetoric such as the comments from the Trump administration, though has not named the president specifically.
In a mass on Sunday, held in St. Peter’s Square, Leo criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world and prayed for reconciliation and dialogue.
“Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,” he said.
On the American west coast, violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement continued in Los Angeles following heavy-handed raids by immigration authorities. Trump later ordered 4,000 state national guardsmen to be mobilized to assist policing of the protests, as well as 700 active duty U.S. Marines.
Prior to becoming pope, Leo also voiced opposition to the treatment of El Salvadorian immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration claimed was part of the MS-13 gang – which was not proven.
The administration later admitted Abrego Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error” and was later forced by a U.S. court to facilitate his return. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele called the decision “preposterous.”
In response, Leo reposted a link to an article by a bishop, who was born in El Salvador, asking, “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”
