Pope Leo XIV, who has spent time in Delaware County as a Villanova University student, was offered a Philadelphia Eagles hat as a gift from a Philadelphia delegation that met him in the Vatican on Wednesday morning, writes Joe Brandt for CBS News Philadelphia.
His Holiness was seen smiling and shaking hands with Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez and Bishop John McIntyre.
He graciously accepted the hat, then handed it to someone else.
Pérez and McIntyre are at the Vatican as the church observes the 2025 Jubilee of Young People. Accompanying them were several young people and the church’s Office for Ministry with Young Adults.
The greeting took place following the pope’s weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square.
“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?” said Archbishop Perez in a CBS News interview.
Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago as Robert Preston, attended Villanova University as an undergraduate, earning a degree in mathematics in 1977.
Read more about the Philadelphia delegation’s visit with Pope Leo XIV at CBS News Philadelphia.
