PHOTO: Lexington priest gifts Roman pontiff a Mark Pope jersey as CBB world embraces new Kentucky era

Without leading the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team in a game, Mark Pope has become a household name in Lexington. His name has already crossed the ocean and reached the Vatican. A Lexington priest was snapped gifting the Roman pontiff a Wildcats jersey with the new head coach’s name on the back.

A photo has gone viral on social media showing Father Jim Sichko handing over a Pope jersey to the actual Pope Francis. It was shared by ESPN’s Matt Jones on X, showing the interaction amid a sea of followers looking on. Take a look at the snap here:

“Lexington priest @JimSichko gives the Pope a Pope jersey,” Jones wrote while sharing the photo.

While Pope Francis is a known soccer fan, some AI-generated photos of him playing basketball took over the internet last year. While most of the fans realized that the snaps were AI-generated, some believed them to be real. The pontiff has no known connection to basketball as a sport but the new gift he received has certainly created one for the Wildcats fans.

Maybe his blessings are the one thing that the new Kentucky head coach needs to usher in an era of dominance that the fans expect from him. As for the Pope, his newly acquired gift can go well with the Harlem Globetrotters jersey he got back in 2015.

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Mark Pope’s personal touch for recruits during campus visits

It hasn't been much time since Mark Pope took over the Kentucky men's basketball program. But he has already established a personal touch while dealing with potential recruits. He attended the recruits during their campus visits in the Spring Transfer portal, including picking them up from the airport and dropping them off there.

The personal touch goes a long way in creating connections with the potential players, who he needs to achieve his objectives in Lexington. According to analyst Matt Jones, this might be the first time it has happened.

"I don’t think I have ever heard of a coach doing this before," Jones said while reporting the news.

Such small gestures leave a big impact on the players and could be the thing that turns the balance in the Wildcats’ favor. It is also a gesture that would make a head coach a fan favorite among his team’s loyalists. Maybe that is why the Wildcats nation has taken to Mark Pope in such a short time.