Mark Pope’s hiring as Kentucky’s new head basketball coach has now reached Vatican City.
Father Jim Sichko, a Lexington-based priest, presented Pope Francis with a customized Wildcats No. 23 jersey featuring Pope’s last name.
Tyler Thompson of On3.com noted that Sichko was in Vatican City for meetings when he was able to present the Pope with a gift.
“He loved it,” Sichko told KSR (h/t Thompson) of Pope Francis’ reaction to the jersey.
It’s unclear why No. 23 was picked, other than Nike is a Kentucky sponsor and this is a clever way to promote the Jordan Brand.
As much fun as it would be to imagine a Wildcats jersey hanging in Vatican Palace, the more likely destination for the jersey will be a museum.
Pope Francis previously donated a collection of signed shirts and pictures from the Italian and Argentinian soccer teams to Vatican museums.
Mark Pope is entering his first season as Kentucky’s head coach after spending the past five seasons at BYU. He might be seeking some spiritual help because replacing John Calipari won’t be an easy task.
Even though Calipari’s tenure ended on a down note with no Sweet 16 appearances in his final five years, the Wildcats were often among the best teams in college basketball for 15 seasons.
Mark Pope will be looking to get Kentucky back to the top of the college basketball world for the first time since 2011-12. If he can solicit a blessing or two from Pope Francis through osmosis with the jersey to help him achieve that goal, no one in Lexington will complain.
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