Former Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski met with Pope Leo XIV and gifted him the ball from the strikeout that ended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, which the pope attended.
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Pierzynski had an audience with Leo on Wednesday, arranged with the help of Catholic Athletes for Christ, per the group’s Facebook page. The pope is the world’s most famous White Sox fan.
Pierzynski gave the pontiff the game ball and a jersey, writing on Instagram that “7 year old me, at my First Communion, would have never thought that I would get to meet The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. I was honored to give him the last out ball from Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.”
The future pope was one of the more than 41,000 fans in the stands at the White Sox home park, which was then called U.S. Cellular Field, for Game 1. Broadcast footage showed the future head of the Catholic Church in the stands as Houston Astros shortstop Adam Everett stood at home plate with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. There is a graphic installation at what is now called Rate Field that marks the section where the pope sat for Game 1.
The inning prior, Pierzynski singled, stole second base and then scored the final run of the game on a triple by White Sox outfielder Scott Posednik, giving the White Sox a 5-3 lead.
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White Sox reliever Bobby Jenks struck out Everett swinging in the top of the ninth, ending the ballgame with a White Sox victory. The team went on to sweep the Astros, who were still in the National League at the time, and bring a World Series title back to the South Side of Chicago for the first time since 1917.
In addition to the game ball and the jersey, Pierzynski also presented a custom White Sox-themed rosary crafted by a northern Indiana man who goes by “TheRosaryGuy” on Etsy.
The craftsman, whose real name is Kevin Workman, told WANE-TV that when he was notified that one of his pieces would be presented to the pope, “I’ll be honest, I started crying. It was amazing. I’ve made rosaries for professional athletes, but this is big. This is really big.”
The White Sox plan to pay tribute to Leo at their Aug. 11 game against Cincinnati, handing out pope-themed hats to fans. The hats are shaped like the pope’s miter, with the team’s sock logo in the middle.
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This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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