Pope Leo XIV suffered one of the greatest insults of his pontificate this week, though the heresy was not theological.
Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, gave the pontiff, a high-profile fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, customized memorabilia of the organization’s crosstown rivals.
“I had the joy of meeting His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this morning, along with a delegation of bishops and priests of our holy Church,” the patriarch wrote in a social media post following the visitation. “During the exchange of gifts, I presented the pope with a customized Cubs jersey and hat.”
“Needless to say, the pope loved the gift,” he added jokingly.
Photos of the pontiff holding the customized gift show him with an unenthused expression.
Pope Leo XIV’s enthusiasm for baseball is a major aspect of his pontificate’s interaction with popular culture.
The Bishop of Rome has received countless gifts of White Sox memorabilia. Fellow fans visiting the Vatican have thrown him baseball caps, which he has dutifully donned for the camera.
He was even caught on video lamenting the team’s loss in this year’s playoffs.
Meanwhile, White Sox fans at Chicago’s Rate Field have broadcast endless love letters to the pontiff since his election earlier this year.
The White Sox have installed a mural of Pope Leo not far from the seat he was photographed sitting in during the first game of the 2005 World Series, which has also been adorned with a plaque honoring the Holy Father.
Fans have attended this season’s games dressed as popes and bishops, while others have been seen bearing signs with slogans such as “Pope Leo, Pray for Us.”
Pope Leo delivered a video address at Rate Field in June when the White Sox allowed a Mass to be celebrated at the stadium in the pontiff’s honor.
“As you gather today in this great celebration, I want to both express my gratitude to you, and also an encouragement to continue to build up community, friendship as brothers and sisters in your daily lives, in your families, in your parishes, in the Archdiocese, and throughout our world,” the pope told attendees.
He continued, “When I see each and every one of you, when I see how people gather together to celebrate their faith, I discover myself how much hope there is in the world in this jubilee year of hope.”
An estimated 30,000 people bought tickets to that religious celebration.
Awa, a fellow Chicago native who was also born in 1975 as David Royel, said he offered the rival team’s uniform “in honor of all of our north side Chicagoans.”
The patriarch was in Vatican City this week to attend an ecumenical ceremony honoring the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, also known as the “Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions.”
Nostra Aetate was a landmark declaration of the Second Vatican Council that laid out the Catholic Church’s path forward in relations with separated churches and other religious faiths.
The Assyrian Church of the East is a small, ancient church based in Iraq, with parishes located around the world.
Due to historical disputes over authority, theology, and liturgy, it is not in communion with the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, or the Oriental Orthodox Church.
Patriarch Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II strengthened ties between the Catholic and Assyrian churches in 1994 when they signed a joint document establishing agreement on theological conceptions of Jesus Christ.
Pope Leo told Awa during their meeting that he hopes the two churches can come into in “full communion.”
