Pope Leo gets gift of Chicago beer from Illinois governor Pritzker
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Pope Leo XIV arrives to a meeting with the academic community of Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, Italy, November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Catholics believe in holy water. How about holy beer?
Pope Leo received a special gift on Wednesday from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a four-pack of American mild ale from a Chicago brewery.
Pritzker, visiting Leo at the Vatican, handed the beers over to the pope as part of a gift exchange. He suggested Leo, originally from Chicago and the first U.S. pope, might enjoy a local brew.
"We'll put that in the fridge," Leo responded, taking the beers and putting them on a table.
Pritzker, a Democrat, has served as Illinois governor since 2019. He did not immediately say why he was in Rome, but travelling foreign officials often meet the pope while in the city.
The beer, a new release from Burning Bush Brewery on Chicago's north side, is named "Da Pope", a play on a famous sketch on the Saturday Night Live television show about the Chicago Bears American football team.
The Vatican did not offer immediate comment about whether Leo, from Chicago's south side, planned to sample the beverage.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Ed Osmond)
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