CBS News correspondent Chris Livesay, traveling with Pope Leo XIV in Turkey, surprised the pontiff with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat that once belonged to Chicago White Sox legend Nellie Fox. The Pope, who grew up in Chicago, was amused and grateful when Livesay handed him the family heirloom during a Thanksgiving gathering on the papal flight.
Livesay said the Pope thanked everyone on board and wished the Americans a happy Thanksgiving. When Livesay shook the Pope’s hand and gave him the bat, the pontiff asked how Livesay had managed to get it through security. People on the flight offered the Pope pumpkin and pecan pies, and he continued on to Turkey for his first overseas trip since becoming leader of the Catholic Church in May. The tour will next include Lebanon before the Pope returns to Rome.
Livesay added that the bat was a prized family heirloom that had belonged to Nellie Fox, a White Sox star and second baseman from the era when Pope Leo was growing up in Chicago. He joked that when the Pope returns to Rome and wants to do batting practice, he has a glove and can help shag fly balls. Chris Livesay, CBS News, Ankara, Turkey.
