Pope Leo XIV Receives 2005 World Series Game 1 Ball from A.J. Pierzynski

Pope Leo XIV now owns a prized piece of Chicago White Sox history, courtesy of one of the franchise's former stars.

Former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski revealed this week that he met Pope Leo and presented him with the baseball from the final out of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, which the lifelong White Sox fan attended at the White Sox’s then-U.S. Cellular Field, now known as Rate Field.

“7-year-old me, at my First Communion, would have never thought that I would get to meet The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV,” Pierzynski wrote Thursday on Instagram alongside photos of the interaction. “An incredible honor to meet @Pontifex and give him the ball that was the last out in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.”

TV cameras famously showed the future Pope Leo, then Father Robert Prevost, watching from the stands as Bobby Jenks closed out a 5-3 Game 1 win over the Astros in the 2005 World Series.

Jenks sealed the victory with a strikeout of Astros shortstop Adam Everett, helping launch Chicago’s four-game sweep and ending an 88-year championship drought. Rate Field now marks the seat where he watched the game.

Leo’s White Sox fandom is still going strong amid his papacy. Last year, he was photographed wearing a White Sox cap at the Vatican, which became a viral moment that thrilled fans after his lifelong support for the team was made public.

The Game 1 baseball joins a growing collection of White Sox memorabilia that Leo has received. The organization previously gifted him a signed jersey from former White Sox captain Paul Konerko, as well as a game-used bat once wielded by Hall of Famer Nellie Fox.

The White Sox are planning a special tribute to the pontiff at their August 11 game against the Cincinnati Reds, where fans will receive pope-themed hats shaped like a miter, featuring the team’s sock logo in the center.