Alderman Bill Conway becomes 1st Chicago elected leader to meet Pope Leo XIV, helps gift ping pong table

CHICAGO (WLS) — Pope Leo XIV plays ping pong, and the hobby is apparently a papal tradition, of sorts.

That’s, at least, in part, how Chicago Alderman Bill Conway became the very first leader from Pope Leo’s hometown to meet the pontiff on his new home turf.

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Framed city proclamation in-hand as a special VIP inside a Vatican auditorium, 34th Ward Alderman Conway became Chicago’s first elected leader to personally greet Pope Leo.

“Speaking to him, it was just Father Bob from the South Side and Midwestern accent, like I do,” Conway said. “He sounds a little bit more spiritual, but he does indeed have a Chicago accent like most Chicagoans.”

In their native Midwestern tongue, Conway spoke to the holy father face-to-face, delivering the gratitude of Chicago Catholics.

“I asked him to pray for Chicago and its people, and he said, ‘I do.’ When he said, ‘I do,’ I don’t know if he meant ‘I do’ like a marriage, like ‘I will’ or he meant ‘I do,’ as in ‘I do all the time,'” Conway said.

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Papal prayers aside, the real reason for a visit was a “Killerspin” ping pong table set up inside the sprawling Vatican hall, a personal delivery from Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell, that he’d heard might land well.

“He had given a ping pong table to Pope Francis, and was invited back to do the same with Pope Leo,” Conway said. “The pope does like ping pong, and was a self-described ‘tennista’ was the word that was used for him.”

So, the high holy tennista gripped the paddle and gave it a quick try.

Perhaps, it will take practice.

“He hit the ball a few times, and the ball kind of skirted out, and Robert had to chase it,” Conway said.

But left on Alderman Conway was the gravity of that interaction.

“What will stick with me about meeting the pope is what a humbling experience it was to meet the leader of the Catholic faith and feeling that spirituality, kindness and calmness about him and having him be a regular Chicagoan with a regular Chicago accent,” he said.