Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV receives a custom Bulls jersey from broadcaster Chuck Swirsky at the Vatican, continuing his unlikely rise as the NBA’s most famous fan in Rome.
Newsroom (11/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) Six months into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff and a proud son of Chicago, has quietly assembled one of the most eclectic sports memorabilia collections in Vatican history — and on Wednesday, November 6, it grew by one iconic piece.
Chuck Swirsky, the beloved play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls and a lector at Holy Name Cathedral, personally presented His Holiness with an authentic, customized Chicago Bulls jersey during a visit to the Apostolic Palace.
Posting photos on X shortly after the audience, an emotional Swirsky wrote: “An incredible day at the Vatican presenting Chicago’s very own Pope Leo 14th with an authentic, iconic, Chicago Bulls jersey. A moment I will never forget. Truly blessed.”
Swirsky, who missed calling a Bulls game to make the trip, thanked the team and Chicago’s 670 The Score for allowing him the opportunity, adding that meeting the Pope was “an experience of a lifetime.”
The Bulls jersey joins an ever-expanding wardrobe that already includes:
- A personalized Chicago White Sox jersey and cap sent on the day of his election (May 8, 2025)
- A custom Chicago Bears jersey gifted by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, to which the Pope reportedly replied, “Good choice”
- A Buffalo Bills jersey from Bishop Michael Fisher of Buffalo
- A Kansas City Royals jersey from former All-Star Mike Sweeney
- A University of Tennessee Volunteers jersey
- A Gaelic football jersey
- A Giro d’Italia leader’s jersey
- And, in a bit of cross-town ribbing, a Chicago Cubs jersey from Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East — a fellow Chicago native and notorious Cubs fan.
The Cubs jersey, sources confirm, was delivered with a wink and a smile, fully aware of Pope Leo’s well-documented allegiance to the South Side White Sox.
With the addition of the Bulls jersey, the pontiff now possesses personalized threads from four of Chicago’s five major professional sports franchises. Only the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks remain missing from the set.
Whether the Blackhawks will step up to complete the Chicago quintet remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Pope Leo XIV — known for his pastoral warmth, intellectual rigor, and now an unmistakable love of Chicago sports — has become the most unexpectedly athletic Supreme Pontiff in modern memory.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Aleteia
(this article is dedicated to Chuck Abraham)
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