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A CBS reporter gifted Pope Leo with White Sox memorabilia passed down through his family
Rachel Dobkinin New YorkFriday 28 November 2025 21:44 GMTComments
ClosePope Leo's heartwarming gesture on his first popemobile ride at inauguration
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Pope Leo XIV was stunned when a reporter gave him a baseball bat once owned by a White Sox legend, a hugely sentimental gift to the Chicago native.
CBS News foreign correspondent Chris Livesay was on the papal plane to Turkey this Thanksgiving when he surprised the pope with the bat that once belonged to Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox. Fox played for the Sox in the 1950s, when the 70-year-old pontiff was just a kid.
Livesay gifted Fox’s bat as the pope greeted the Vatican press corps in the plane’s cabin.
“I bring a family heirloom,” Livesay told the pope in a video shared on social media. “This used to be Nellie Fox’s baseball bat. My parents’ generation is from Chicago. It’s got his initials on the butt of the bat.”
open image in galleryPope Leo, a huge White Sox fan, was gifted a bat belonging to Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox, who played for the franchise in the 1950s (CBS News/Screenshot)The pope thanked Livesay for his thoughtful gift, but not without throwing in a joke.
"How did you get that through security?" he quipped, according to an X post from Livesay announcing his special exchange.
Livesay explained in the video that his cousin Jim mailed him the bat and insisted he give it to the pope.
“I’ve never given any pope a gift before, but when your cousin sends you Nellie Fox’s bat in the mail, you can’t say no. Especially not on Thanksgiving,” Livesay wrote on X.
Pope Leo is a known White Sox fan. In June, shortly after being chosen as the pope in May, he made a virtual appearance on the Jumbotron at Rate Field, the stadium where the White Sox play, to share a message of hope with his hometown.
open image in galleryShortly after being chosen as the pope in May, Pope Leo made a virtual appearance on the Jumbotron at the White Sox's Rate Field (Scott Olson/Getty Images)The pope called on the “young people of the world” to find God in their hearts, and to “grow in communion so as to be beacons of hope in our troubled world.”
open image in galleryPope Leo was honored in a graphic installation at Rate Field, which was unveiled in May (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)It seems the love Pope Leo has for the White Sox is mutual after he was honored in a graphic installation at Rate Field, which was unveiled in May.
The installation, which includes an image of Pope Leo waving with a smile on his face, is located on the concourse wall near Section 140, where the Chicago native attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The White Sox swept the Houston Astros that year, becoming a World Series winner for the first time since 1917. The footage of the Pope at the game went viral soon after he was elected.
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