ROME — Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann presented Pope Leo XIV with a White Sox-themed kippah during a Vatican meeting on May 28, 2026, as part of a Chicago delegation visit. The delegation, composed of civic, business, and faith leaders, was invited to Rome by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Heydemann was the only rabbi among them.
Heydemann, founder and leader of Mishkan Chicago, an independent Jewish spiritual community, gifted the pope a kippah featuring the Chicago White Sox logo on the exterior and a pomegranate on the interior. She said the kippah was included in a chest of Chicago-themed gifts presented to Pope Leo XIV as a nod to his lifelong devotion to the White Sox. "We thought that would be a sweet point connection between me and the pope," she said.
During the visit, Heydemann began weeping while waiting for the pope to enter the room. She later reflected that Pope Leo XIV, as a religious leader with global attention, is both beloved and critiqued constantly. She noted that his typical white zucchetto looks "awfully like a kippah." She expressed hope that he might wear the White Sox version after work: "It brings us all joy to imagine that after a long day at work wearing the cream-colored one that matches his robes, maybe at the end of the day he’ll switch it out for a jersey material, White Sox kippah, and thinks fondly of sweet home Chicago, and the Jewish spiritual community gave it to him."
Heydemann told Pope Leo XIV, "You may be anti-war, but I do not hear you denouncing or degrading people. Thank you for holding the humanity of Israelis and Palestinians in the same breath and the same thought. It’s not something that is modeled very often." She thanked him for holding the humanity of everyone involved in the conflict in Gaza. Pope Leo XIV, elected in 2025, has repeatedly advocated for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, referring to the conflict as "vengeance" and "barbarity." Heydemann said her meeting with the pope reflected her conviction about "building bridges, even in the presence of difference." She added, "There’s too much at stake in our world for us to not be continuing to be in relationship with one another in the presence of differences."
No independent assessment of Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann’s claims was available.