Pope Leo XIV Blesses 1 NFL Player Ahead Of 2025 Season originally appeared on The Spun.

Pope Leo XIV has blessed an NFL player ahead of the 2025 regular season.

The first American pope is from Chicago, Illinois. He grew up rooting for the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox. Pope Leo XIV has blessed one NFL player ahead of the 2025 regular season.

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Surprisingly, it’s a player from one of the Chicago Bears’ rivals.

Pope Leo XIV has blessed a player from the Detroit Lions ahead of the 2025 season. Pope Leo XIV has blessed Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and his new bride, Callahan Dellinger LaPorta.

The couple was in Rome, Italy.

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MAY 8: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo (Leone) XIV, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 8: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo (Leone) XIV, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The veteran NFL tight end took to Instagram to show off the photo on Wednesday.

“Thank you to a very busy man for blessing me and my bride. A special moment we’ll never forget #catholic #popeleoxiv #catholicismrocks,” he announced.

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It’s a cool moment for LaPorta and his wife, of course. However, Chicago Bears fans might not love that.

The Bears are hoping to compete at the top of the NFC North with the Lions in 2025. Chicago has now seen its American-born pope blessing one of the team’s top divisional rivals ahead of the 2025 regular season.

Perhaps the Chicago Bears will need to take a trip to The Vatican ahead of the 2025 regular season, so they can get a blessing from Pope Leo XIV, too.

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The Bears, who have been one of the NFL’s worst teams for several years, will look to take a major step into playoff contention in 2025.

Pope Leo XIV Blesses 1 NFL Player Ahead Of 2025 Season first appeared on The Spun on Jun 25, 2025

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.