Pope Leo XIV is a pontiff of firsts: He's the first American Pope, his love for Wordle makes him the first gamer Pope, he's the first Pope to declare war on AI, and now he's the first Pope in human history to both own and have signed a Pokémon card.
Yeah, I wasn't expecting that one either. The holy surprising news came courtesy of a reddit post from user ReptileCake, who was one of a group of folk from the Diocese of Copenhagen, Denmark, attending a Jubilee Year celebration event in the UK (first spotted by Polygon). At such events there are opportunities for young Catholics to meet the Pope and have items blessed, and our enterprising Poké-fan knew exactly what to bring.
It somehow gets even better. The two cards that ReptileCake presented to Pope Leo were Popplios: this was a minor meme in the Pokemon community around the papal appointment, because "Pope Leo" and "Popp-Lio" sound alike. ReptileCake described the interaction to Polygon like this:
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"How I’d describe the experience: 'Your Holiness! It is a great pleasure to meet you, and thank you for your speech. I have brought you a gift! *takes out a reverse holo foil Popplio* It’s a Popplio, it sounds like Pope Leo!'
"The Pope laughs, probably more of a courtesy, at least I thought that until he began showing it off to the guards around him.
"I reach into my pocket to bring out the second card and a pen: 'And can you sign a copy for me?' I asked and he obliged 'Of course!'"
A man got his “Popplio” pokémon card autographed by Pope Leo from r/interestingasfuck
I'm no expert, but the Pope's touch is considered by Catholics as a blessing so... does that make this Pokémon card a relic of the Catholic Church? The world needs an ecumenical council to answer this question. Either way it's good to see a Pope that endorses evolution.
Jokes aside, this is not the Vatican's first brush with Pokémon. Way back in 2000 there was a minor moral panic around Pokémon games and what they were teaching children. Step up Pope John Paul II, who told worried Catholics that the games had no "harmful moral side effects" and were built around "ties of intense friendship." In other words, let the kids play with their damn Pokeymans and help me finish off this communion wine.
"I’ll never get rid of the card," said ReptileCake. "It is my personal artefact and I will cherish it in sleeve and one-touch UV slab. I don’t want to grade it, it’s just a funny joke that his Holiness indulged in with me, that’s worth more than any monetary value can satisfy." Amen.
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