Pope Leo XIV receives Chicago Bears jersey as JD Vance visits Vatican

Donald Trump extended a White House invitation to Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pontiff. The invitation was conveyed through a letter from the US president and first lady Melania Trump, which was delivered to the pope by US vice-president JD Vance during a meeting at the Vatican on Monday morning. A video shared by the Vatican of the meeting’s opening showed Vance and his wife presenting the pope with a Chicago Bears American football jersey bearing Leo’s name.“As you can probably imagine, the US people are extremely excited about you,” Vance said, noting that he converted to Catholicism in 2019. In response, Leo gifted Vance a bronze sculpture inscribed with the Italian words meaning “peace is a fragile flower.” The pope had a private conversation with Vance before they were joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Vatican did not disclose the details of their discussion. Earlier this month, head coach Ben Johnson mentioned he had "heard rumblings" that Pope Leo XIV was a Bears supporter. Now, it’s almost certain.Although it’s clear that the Pope is a Bears fan, there is more of a split within the baseball community, as Robert Francis Prevost is a devoted White Sox supporter and even attended a White Sox World Series game in 2005.Vance was among the final foreign officials to meet with Pope Francis before the Argentine pope’s passing on April 21. The two had clashed over migration issues, with Francis publicly criticizing the Trump administration’s deportation plan and addressing Vance’s theological reasoning for it.