An NFL legend wrote a letter to Pope Leo XIV, hoping his holiness would grant him one request.
When Robert F. Prevost became pope in May, a hard-fought territorial battle was waged in the sports world over who could claim the Catholic leader as their own. In the end, it was determined that the papacy’s fandom resides in baseball with the Chicago White Sox (not the Chicago Cubs).
This led to a tribute to the pope at the White Sox’s Rate Field, followed by Mass with Leo XIV via video at the stadium in June.
All of this fanfare encouraged one retired athlete to think that maybe the pope is a football fan, too.
‘It’s you. It’s Tiger Woods. It’s Bradley Cooper. It’s President Bush.’
Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning revealed on Monday that he sent a handwritten note to both Pope Leo XIV and his executive assistant.
“Look at these two handwritten letters I wrote,” Manning told his brother Eli on ESPN 2’s “ManningCast.”
“Handwritten. I made the effort,” Manning comically continued, before explaining what his letter was all about.
He then looked into the camera and said, “These are handwritten letters, and if you’re watching, your holiness, this is an open invitation.”
RELATED: Chicago White Sox celebrate Pope Leo XIV as one of ‘South Side’s own’
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Manning was, hilariously, inviting Pope Leo XIV to come onto the ESPN 2 show where the brothers are joined by guests to swap football stories and analyze an NFL game from Monday Night Football.
“Come on the show anytime,” Manning reiterated.
The former University of Tennessee star then disclosed that the pope was on a shortlist of his viewers’ most-desired guests.
“It’s you. It’s Tiger Woods. It’s Bradley Cooper. It’s President Bush. It’s Larry David,” he rattled off. “Y’all are our most-wanted on that list for the ‘ManningCast.’ Come anytime.”
“We’d love to have you, your holiness,” Manning cordially concluded.
RELATED: Could Pope Leo XIV lose his American citizenship?
Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Always one to self-deprecate, Manning said he failed in getting the pope on the show, “Kinda like I failed to recruit Randy Moss to Tennessee.”
“I couldn’t close the pope, but I made the effort Eli,” he told his brother. “That’s the kind of effort we make here at ESPN 2. I tried my hardest.”
The same episode included iconic comedian and actor Bill Murray, though, along with Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss and current Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley.
Maybe the “ManningCast” is not yet pope-worthy, but it is certainly delivering big stars to the program.
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