PHILADELPHIA — When Philadelphia Flyers supporter Mike Culin decided his struggling hockey team needed divine assistance, he abandoned conventional lucky charms for a celestial strategy: presenting Pope Leo XIV with a personalized Flyers uniform during a family vacation to Italy.
“I thought, what are you doing? That jersey is expensive,” recalled Culin’s spouse, Christine. “Do you honestly believe you’ll manage to reach the Pope and give him this? But he had confidence.”
Few have endured more heartbreak than Flyers supporters over the past fifty years, but Mike Culin never lost his belief, whether in hockey or in heaven.
When the opportunity arose, Culin prepared for the ultimate play — an attempt to somehow deliver the Flyers jersey bearing “Pope Leo” on the nameplate and number 14 (with respect to current No. 14 Sean Couturier) from Essington, Pennsylvania, to Vatican City and into the possession of the first American-born pope, a Chicago native and devoted sports enthusiast.
The Culin family, along with their son Jesse Gennett, his spouse, and her parents, embarked on an Italian journey that included securing a position for the papal gathering in St. Peter’s Square. The group assembled on March 18 with jersey ready, hoping to attract Leo’s notice as he passed in the popemobile.
“Our objective was simply getting him to notice it,” Gennett explained. “We figured we needed to position ourselves near the edge because that would give us the best opportunity for him to spot it. And he did notice it. He gestured toward it and gave what looked like a thumbs up. Everything happened incredibly quickly.”
Christine Culin raised the jersey by gripping both shoulders so the pope would see it, while her daughter-in-law requested the jersey for a better opportunity to hand it over as the popemobile drew near.
“For you! For you! For you! For you!” Gennett’s wife, Valerie Giacobbe, shouted toward the papal procession.
Indeed, a security officer grabbed the jersey and transferred it to someone who examined the uniform while seated in the vehicle behind Leo. The families cheered with excitement and captured additional photos when the popemobile paused so Leo could bless some infants.
“He might have looked right and completely missed it,” Mike Culin noted. “Instead he looked left and spotted the jersey.”
Culin’s hope centered as much on securing some heavenly assistance for the Flyers’ final games as it did on gifting Leo a jersey.
“He believed the Flyers required that support,” Gennett said. “And they absolutely did.”
With this ultimate advantage, the Flyers defeated Anaheim that evening to begin a three-game victory run, contributing to a 9-4 performance during that period to enter the Eastern Conference playoff race. The white smoke signaling a playoff position hasn’t yet emerged from their home venue: The Flyers maintain a slim one-point advantage for the final spot with three contests remaining.
Certain Flyers supporters attribute papal influence to the winning streak, while more skeptical fans believe it was actually an arrival from above that triggered the turnaround: Canadian teenager Porter Martone, who has scored one goal and earned four points in his initial five NHL appearances.
The papal footage gained social media attention when Chris Gennett, a musician and Jesse’s brother, shared the 60-second family video on TikTok.
The pope, formerly Robert Prevost, is a recognized sports enthusiast, particularly of the Chicago White Sox. He was present at the 2005 World Series opening game against Houston in Chicago and witnessed his favorite team defeat the Astros 5-3 en route to a four-game championship sweep and their first title since 1917.
But what would prompt him to acknowledge a Flyers jersey? He did study at Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1977. Perhaps he attended some games at the former Spectrum and cheered for those combative Broad Street Bullies.
Culin mentioned he would have kept the jersey — a family friend hand-sewed the nameplate — as a novelty memento if Leo hadn’t noticed the gift.
Maybe during his private moments, Leo has tried on the size 52 jersey, just for enjoyment.
“He had to check if it fits, right?” Culin said with a chuckle.
