Pope Leo XIV Blesses Commanders Rival Ahead Of 2025 Season
Pope Leo XIV Blesses Commanders Rival Ahead Of 2025 Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Last year in the playoffs, the Detroit Lions needed all the help they could get against the upstart Washington Commanders, who buzz-sawed coach Dan Campbell's favored team in a 45-31 shellacking.
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The Lions are coming back into 2025 with some extra juice, though, as they figure to once again join Washington as a Super Bowl contender.
The Lions have The Vatican on their side.
Pope Leo XIV - seriously - has blessed an NFL player ahead of the 2025 regular season.
And really ... playfully ... Washington fans shouldn't be as upset about this as Chicago Bears fans surely are.
The first-ever American pope just happens to be from Chicago ... and has long been well-known for his fandom of the Bears and the White Sox and all things Windy City.
As it happens, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and his new bride, Callahan Dellinger LaPorta, scheduled a vacation in Rome ...
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And yes, they got blessed by the Pope, as the young NFL tight end demonstrated for all to see as took to Instagram to show off the photo on Wednesday.
"Thank you to a very busy man for blessing me and my bride. A special moment we'll never forget,'' he wrote.
Bears fans can be mock-unhappy about this ... but Chicago has spent a great deal of time in the NFC North basement and doesn't figure to be a match for the powerful Lions anyway.
And the Commanders? As they and the Lions prepare to give chase to upsetting defending champion Philadelphia toward a Super Bowl run, they'll take any "blessing'' they can get.
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Perhaps Dan Quinn should book himself a quick trip to The Vatican?
Related: Commanders Trade Terry McLaurin for T.J. Watt in Blockbuster Prediction
Related: What is Commanders' Biggest 'Red Flag' In 2025?
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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