Call him Pope Pieus.
Pope Leo XIV recently received a special delivery at the Vatican which came all the way from Chicago.
The Illinois-born pontiff, 69, was treated to a personal-size pepperoni pizza from Aurelio’s Pizza, a chain he’s reportedly loved since he was a boy.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost before he was elected the first American pope earlier this year, received the gift as he rode through Saint Peter’s Square in Rome on Wednesday, July 30.
His brother, John Prevost, told Chicago TV station WGN that the pontiff “devoured” the personal pepperoni pie.
According to NBC News, friends from the Midwest came up with the idea to get the pope a box of his favorite pie.
“It started 30 days ago when I started a challenge to deliver a pizza to the pope,” Catholic content creator Jayden Remias, from Ohio, told WGN.
He drove to Chicago to pick up a frozen Aurelio’s pizza and delivered it to Madeline Daley from Cincinnati, with whom he connected online, before she left for Rome.
Daley, 22, made the final leg of the trek to deliver the pizza to the pope as he toured the historical plaza.
She got his attention by waving the pie’s box and holding a sign that read “We have Aurelio’s pizza.” Leo appeared to signal to his security guard to accept the slice of home.
As he accepted the cheesy gift, the leader of the Catholic Church gave a thumbs up and had a big smile on his face.
“When Pope Leo came around, he kept grabbing babies to bless them, but as soon as he saw the pizza, he had babies in his hand, but he’s still saying, like, ‘Get me that pizza, I want that pizza,’” Daley told NBC News.
“And seeing the logo made him light up, and his smile was from ear to ear and he was extremely excited about it.”
Joe Aurelio, president and CEO of Aurelio’s Pizza, said it was “amazing” to be able to deliver the Chicago pizza to the pope.
“Pope Leo has been a lifetime Aurelio’s fan and going to Aurelio’s Pizza in Homewood, Illinois, since the 1960s,” he said. “So it’s been part of his life and for him to recognize [the pizza] and actually stop there in the audience was amazing.”
Read the full article here
