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How cool would this be?!
During the Monday night broadcast of ESPN2’s Manningcast, former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning revealed that he invited Pope Leo XIV to appear on the show during the Bears-Vikings game.
The teams went head-to-head on Sept. 8, 2025.
We assume that Pope Leo XIV is a Bears fan due to his Chicago roots. He even received a custom Chicago Bears jersey during his first visit with Vice President JD Vance.
Manningcast, a show created by Peyton Manning, features former NFL quarterbacks (and brothers!) Peyton and Eli Manning. They provide their commentary and analysis during Monday Night Football games.
"I think we should let the people know that you tried to book a big-time guest," Eli said during the Week 1 broadcast.
"Is it true you failed to book Chicago native, Pope Leo?"
Peyton went on to admit that he couldn’t close the pope, but he did try his hardest!
The older Manning brother wrote not one, but two handwritten letters in hopes of booking the Holy Father as one of the four guests during the Monday Night Football broadcast.
What did the letters to Pope Leo say?
Peyton reveals that he gave a lot of detail as to who he was and information about the show before asking him to appear as a guest.
Although Pope Leo XIV did not respond to the letter, nor did his assistant, Peyton said that his invitation still stands.
“I tried my hardest…Look at these two handwritten letters I wrote. I wrote His Holiness himself, and I wrote his executive assistant. I made the effort, and if you’re watching your holiness, this is an open invitation to come on the show anytime,” he said.
Eli joked that he even sent the Vicar of Saint Peter a text message inviting him to join the duo during Monday Night Football.
The fictional text read,
“Hey Pope - Throwing out a Hail Mary…want to come on the ManningCast Week 1? Hit me up. God Bless You. E.”
The next time the Bears appear on Monday Night Football is during their Week 6 matchup versus the Washington Commanders. It falls on Oct. 13, 2025. We also celebrate the day the sun danced during the third Fatima apparition on that day, so maybe another miracle will transpire and we can see the Holy Father on American television!
The following clip was posted on the SportsCenter Instagram page in collaboration with the ESPN NFL page.
The caption reads,
“This would be legendary 💯”
Users responded with great excitement to the invitation.
“Eli with the Hail Mary 😂”
“If the pope does the Manningcast, I’m going back to being a Catholic.”
“That would be epic to have our Holy Father on Manningcast.”
“Da Pope!”