A Wawa bag full of Tastykakes is not the kind of gift that usually crosses a pope’s desk.
But when a delegation from Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center arrived at the Vatican to meet Pope Leo XIV, that’s exactly what they handed him, writes Fallon Roth for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The visit came ahead of Leo’s Liberty Medal acceptance speech, which will be broadcast on Independence Mall and YouTube on July 3.
And the gifts the group brought were unmistakably local: Villanova University swag, a replica of George Washington’s Acts of Congress, and that now-famous tote bag of Tastykakes.
The delegation was led by interim Constitution Center president and CEO Vince Stango and Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, who presented the first pope from the United States with the haul.
The Tastykakes were Pérez’s contribution, and they landed. Leo, a Villanova alumnus, reportedly let out a “big belly laugh” when he saw them.
“Where else would this happen that you meet up with the archbishop toting Tastykakes in a Wawa bag?” said Stango. “So there was a real humanity to it, a real Philadelphia vibe that was unmistakable.”
But the visit carried civic weight, too.
The delegation presented Leo with the Liberty Medal, honoring his work promoting religious liberty, and discussed the Constitution Center’s mission and the founding principles of the United States.
Stango walked the pope through the Washington replica page by page, including the first president’s own margin notes.
The Philadelphia Inquirer lays out the rest of the Vatican exchange, the details of the July 3 ceremony on Independence Mall, and the local gifts that made this visit feel so personal.
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