The Gospel needs to be heard today!
Stand with us in this mission.
Pope Leo's latest piece of sports memorabilia is a personalized Chicago Bulls jersey that was hand-delivered by a broadcasting legend.
On November 6, Chuck Swirsky, the play-by-play announcer of the Chicago Bulls, gifted the Pope a custom jersey at the Vatican, and said on X that the experience was "a moment I will never forget."
It was "an incredible day at the Vatican," said Swirsky, who is also a reader at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral. "Presenting Chicago's very own Pope Leo 14th with an authentic, iconic, Chicago Bulls jersey."
Swirsky said he was "truly blessed" to have the chance to meet the Pope and give him the jersey, and he thanked the team and Chicago Sports Station 670 for "allowing me to miss a game."
Pope Leo's impressive collection
Chicago native Pope Leo XIV's family made it very clear from the beginning of his papacy where his baseball loyalties lie among the Windy City's two teams: the Chicago White Sox. And considering one of the first people Pope Leo met as pope was tennis superstar Jannik Sinner, people (rightly) assumed that the new pope is a sports guy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, since his election, Pope Leo has received a lot of sports memorabilia in the form of balls, hats, and, of course, jerseys.
On May 8, the day Pope Leo was elected, the Chicago White Sox sent a hat and personalized jersey to the Vatican. This was, in all likelihood, the first of what would become a growing collection.
"Some things are bigger than baseball, and in this case, we're glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican. A pinstripes White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat already are on the way to Rome, and of course, the Pontiff always is welcome at his ballpark," said the team at the time.
Less than two weeks into his papacy, Vice President JD Vance gave Pope Leo XIV a custom Chicago Bears football jersey.
"Good choice," said Pope Leo in response.
Since then, Pope Leo has received a Gaelic football jersey, a Buffalo Bills jersey from Bishop Michael Fisher of Buffalo, a Kansas City Royals jersey from former player Mike Sweeney, a University of Tennessee football jersey from a politician from the state, a Giro D'Italia bike jersey, and notably, a Chicago Cubs jersey from Mar Awa III, the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.
(The Cubs jersey was confirmed to be a tongue-in-cheek joke from Mar Awa III, who is also a Chicago native and is a fan of the team.)
With the acquisition of the custom Chicago Bulls jersey, Pope Leo XIV's Chicago jersey collection is almost complete (from the major sports leagues, that is).
Now, he just needs one from the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks.
