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Pope Leo XIV's new Eagles hat came from Philly's Archbishop – here's how it happened.
Pope Leo XIV graciously accepted a gifted Philadelphia Eagles hat as a delegation from the City of Brotherly Love met him at the Vatican on Wednesday morning.
His Holiness, who reps Chicago, hallowed be the White Sox, is seen smiling and shaking hands with Philly Archbishop Nelson Pérez and Bishop John McIntyre.
A livestream from the Vatican shows Pope Leo accepting the hat and shaking hands with Pérez before handing the cap off to someone else.
"I was blessed with the opportunity to greet him and present him with the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl cap (Go Birds!!!)," Pérez said in a post on Facebook, including an eagle emoji. "This was a profoundly joyful encounter with the Holy Father along with thousands of Pilgrims from all over the world."'
Pérez and McIntyre are visiting the Vatican with several young people and the church's Office for Ministry with Young Adults as the church observes the 2025 Jubilee of Young People. The group departed Philly for Rome on July 26.
Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Perez/Facebook
Archbishop Nelson Perez shares story of meeting Pope Leo XIV
Pérez and McIntyre met Pope Leo following his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square. Then Pérez handed him the hat and shook hands with the pope.
"He was certainly filled with joy, and congratulated Philly, the Eagles on winning the Super Bowl. This is great, this is the first pope in history that knows what a Wawa is, knows cheesesteaks, and now is holding in his hand an Eagles cap, how great is that?"
You can watch the full interview with Jim Donovan and Janelle Burrell in the video above.
Pope Leo XIV's Philadelphia-area past
The first American Pope, Leo XIV — born in Chicago as Robert Prevost — does have some ties to the Philly area. He attended Villanova University as an undergraduate, earning a degree in mathematics in 1977. One summer, he worked on the grounds crew at St. Denis Parish in Havertown, Pennsylvania.
And a friend of his previously told CBS News Philadelphia that this is a pope who has been to Wawa.
"He was very happy when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. He rejoiced with those of us from Philly," Augustinian Father Joe Farrell said.
Farrell said he did not hear the Holy Father say "Go Birds" at any point during the Super Bowl.
However, it's clear Pope Leo reps the Windy City first and foremost.
Minutes after the Sistine Chapel's chimney produced white smoke and he emerged in St. Peter's Square, savvy social media users tracked down images of Pope Leo attending Game 1 of the 2005 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros.
The White Sox have since committed to installing a commemorative artwork in the seat where the future pope watched the Sox win.
Then in June, a couple of Red Sox fans from Massachusetts gave Pope Leo a White Sox hat that he broke Vatican protocol to put on.
Pope Leo XIV (C) reacts wearing a Chicago White Sox baseball team cap as he meets newly wedded couples during the weekly general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 11, 2025.
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images
He also donned a Villanova baseball cap when members of the National Italian American Foundation visited the Vatican and gave him the hat in early June.
Joe Brandt has been a digital content producer for CBS News Philadelphia since 2022. He is a Temple University graduate and was born and raised in Pitman, NJ.
