Hungry in Milwaukee, Chicago Benefit from Archbishops’ MLB RivalryRead Time 5 min

A server sets up Chicago-style pizza from the Windy City’s Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria to be part of the Oct. 13 lunch at the Open Door Cafe meal program offered by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee. (Photo by Steve Sweeney)

In MLB, the Milwaukee Brewers celebrated their National League division series win when they knocked out the Chicago Cubs — but meal program guests in both cities benefited.

At the beginning of the series, Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob of Milwaukee and Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, initially raised the stakes with a friendly wager.

The archbishops agreed that the losing city’s shepherd would send the winning city a taste of their town: with a Brewers win, Chicago would send pizza north, and a Cubs victory would mean that Milwaukee would send brats south.

Two days after the Brewers third win that gave them the series win, the Archdiocese of Chicago treated about 100 guests of the Open Door Cafe meal program of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee, to Chicago-style pizza from the Windy City’s Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.

The bet was all in good fun, highlighting the friendly rivalry between the two Catholic communities while uniting in support of their hometown teams during the excitement of the playoffs.

Although the Milwaukee Brewers won the playoff series, Archbishop Grob decided to honor the spirit of charity and goodwill by sending 100 brats,  courtesy of Milwaukee’s own Bunzel’s Meat Market and Catering, to the Chicago’s Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, which serves families and people in need through its food pantry and outreach programs.

Cardinal Cupich was appointed Archbishop of Chicago by Pope Francis on Sept. 20, 2014, and installed as the ninth archbishop of Chicago on Nov. 18, 2014. On Oct. 9, 2016, Pope Francis named him a Cardinal, and he was elevated to the College of Cardinals in a consistory Nov. 19, 2016, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

A native of Cross Plains, Archbishop Grob was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin on May 23, 1992, and served in many roles in his 32 years of service to the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was named Archbishop of Milwaukee by Pope Francis on Nov. 4, 2024, and was installed Jan. 14.