Former Chicago White Sox catcher, A.J. Pierzynski gifted Pope Leo XIV with a World Series ball from Game 1 of 2005.

Now sitting in first place in the AL Central, it almost seems like there has been divine intervention on the South Side to help the Chicago White Sox to what has been an incredible turnaround. At the very least, it doesn’t hurt the White Sox that Pope Leo XIV is a fan.

A former Chicago White Sox star, A.J. Pierzynski, recently had the chance to meet with the Pope. Knowing that he’s a fan, Pierzynski brought along an incredible piece of memorabilia as a gift, the ball that was the last out of Game 1 from the 2005 World Series.

“An incredible honor to meet @Pontifex and give him the ball that was the last out in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series,” Pierzynski wrote on Twitter/X. “@whitesox.”

The 2005 World Series was a special one for White Sox fans. In many respects, the team performed better than expected in the regular season to win 99 games and the AL Central. Hot, they were 7-1 in the ALDS and the ALCS combined, before getting to the World Series, where they swept the Houston Astros in one of the most dominant postseason runs in history.

The World Series win ended an 88-year-long championship drought, often termed the Curse of the Black Sox. After all, Chicago won in 1917, threw the World Series in 1919, and didn’t win again until 2005.

The White Sox have struggled since then, too. Chicago has only made the postseason three times since winning the World Series, and as recently as 2024, Chicago had a 41-win season.

Pope Leo XIV Has Longstanding Ties to the Chicago White Sox

A native of Chicago, Pope Leo XIV has been a lifelong fan of the White Sox. In fact, he was even in attendance for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. That’s the same game A.J. Pierzynski gifted him the ball from.

Since then, he has taken his fandom of the White Sox into the Papacy. At one point, he even wore a White Sox hat while at the Vatican. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the White Sox have also been very open to accepting the connection.

In one instance, shortly after he was elected Pope, the White Sox used their video board to congratulate him. It read, “The White Sox proudly congratulate the South Side’s very own, Pope Leo XIV. Named the 268th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.”

Just over a month after that, Pope Leo XIV chose to hold a virtual mass. He used Rate Field as the host venue for that virtual mass, allowing around 30,000 people to attend.

Pope Leo XIV Was Gifted a Legendary White Sox Bat

The World Series ball isn’t the only bit of Chicago White Sox memorabilia that’s been gifted to Pope Leo XIV. He was also given a bat used by White Sox legend Nellie Fox in November of 2025.

“Oh, wow,” the Pope was quoted as saying at the time. “How did you get this through security?”

That gift came from CBS News foreign correspondent Chris Livesay. He had explained that the bat was actually a family heirloom, but that he wanted the Pope to have it now.