On Thursday night, the Kane County Cougars are hoping their Pope Leo XIV bobblehead giveaway will put a couple extra angels in the outfield.

The Cougars will face the Gary SouthShore RailCats at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with the first 1,500 attendees receiving bobbleheads of the first American pope donning a Cougar jersey.

Reportedly a Chicago White Sox fan, Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, grew up a baseball enthusiast in the Chicago area. Although he apparently has never been to a Cougars game, the team hopes someday he’ll answer their prayers.

“We wanted to commemorate the pope. It’s really exciting for the whole Chicago area,” said Claire Jacobi, the Kane County Cougars promotions director. “He’s a large baseball fan, so we wanted to be fun and creative, and we hope the fans will love it. Hopefully, we can make him a Cougars fan someday as well.”

Jacobi said bringing people together and highlighting aspects of the shared community is what the organization is all about.

“We have something for everyone, no matter what age you are,” Jacobi said. “We have the kids zone with fun activities. There’s always something crazy happening on the field. We also have really cool themed nights, fireworks, and hot dog and drinks specials.”

While perhaps few besides Pope Leo XIV can confirm if all dogs go to heaven, at Wednesday night’s game, all dogs were welcome at the baseball stadium.

The Cougars celebrated their last “Bark in the Park” event, where fans were invited to bring along their pooches to watch the Cougars take on the RailCats, and maybe even catch a foul ball.

“It gives fans an opportunity to bring their dog someplace they normally wouldn’t go, and it becomes so fun to see all the dogs in the lawn areas,” Jacobi said. “Everybody has so much fun bringing their furry friends along.”

To learn more about the Kane County Cougars’ events and games, visit kccougars.com.