What would you take to a meeting with the Pope? A family heirloom? A favorite book? Pictures of an ill loved one? Well, one person decided to bring a Pokémon card. His holiness not only blessed it but autographed a second one. The fan said the Pontiff laughed, and described the entire meeting as “pretty chill.”
We already knew Pope Leo XIV was a gamer, but now we know he’s also the first to have definitely touched a Pokémon card. But not just any card. In posts that blew up on Reddit over the weekend, user ReptileCake explained that the ones he presented to Pope Leo XIV were specifically featuring Popplio, a common meme when the new leader of the Catholic Church was selected back in May.
The fan who was visiting on July 5 from the Diocese of Copenhagen recounted what went down in a message to Polygon:
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!”
Between auctions for vintage Pokémon cards and scalpers gobbling up new sets as fast as they can print them, prices for some of the collectibles are spiking these days. How much would the first reverse holo foil Popplio go for? Probably a lot once his holiness has passed away (Pope Leo XIV is currently 69—nice). But either way, ReptileCake says he has no plans to sell.
“I’ll never intend to get rid of the card,” he wrote on Reddit. “It is my personal artefact and I will cherish it in sleeve and one-touch UV slab.” He’s not even going to send it into PSA or CGC. “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.”
The Poké-stunt has fueled a mini-debate about whether the Popplio cards in question now count as relics. Some Catholics believe in first, second, and third class relics, just like the Ghostbusters’ numbering system for haunted artifacts, but it’s hard to find strict, codified definitions by the Church. Because the cards don’t belong to Pope Leo XIV and aren’t regularly used by him, but have come into contact with his hands, they might count as third class relics. It’s unclear if that means they’re banned at official tournaments.
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