When in Rome …
That’s where former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is, and while he’s there, he presented Chicago native and avowed Sox fan Pope Leo XIV with the last-out ball from Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, in which the Sox swept the Astros.
Pierzynski, now a co-host of the daily baseball show “Foul Territory” and a Fox Sports analyst, caught the last out of the game on a strikeout by Bobby Jenks.
An incredible honor to meet @Pontifex and give him the ball that was the last out in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. @whitesox pic.twitter.com/81aT5UTOSs
— A.J. Pierzynski (@ajpierzynski12) June 25, 2026
“7 year old me, at my First Communion, would have never thought that I would get to meet The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV,” Pierzynski wrote on Instagram. “I was honored to give him the last out ball from Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, the game he attended.”
Pope Leo was known as Robert Prevost or Father Bob when he went to the World Series opener 21 years ago, a 5-3 White Sox victory.
Contributing: Associated Press