Father Jim Sichko gifted Pope Francis a bottle of Wm. Tarr signed by University of Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops. (Image via Father Jim Sichko)

Pope Francis has a lot on his plate. Between running the Catholic church and meeting with world leaders, you would think he doesn’t have time for anything else. But this week, the Pope found time to meet with Father Jim Sichko, a missionary of mercy commissioned by Francis and a priest with the Diocese of Lexington. And what did Father Sichko bring the Pope as a gift? A bottle of bourbon signed by University of Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops.

“[Stoops] had signed the bottle for me the night before I was leaving for Rome,” Sichko said in a phone interview with the Lexington Herald Leader. “I looked at him and said, ‘Why sign it to me? Put it to Pope Francis and I’ll give it to him.’ He looked at me like I wasn’t really going to do that. I said, ‘Coach, I’m going to give it to him, and now watch how far you go. You’ll go all the way this year.’ He laughed and laughed.”

2nd bottle of Bourbon for Pope Francis autographed by Coach Mark Stoops! #BBN #Eeeeeeeee @UKCoachStoops @vincemarrow pic.twitter.com/5Owy6i5Cb3

— Father Jim Sichko (@JimSichko) May 19, 2022

According to the Herald Leader, Sichko usually brings bourbon as a gift during his papal visits. On this trip, he brought two bottles: a personalized bottle of Bulleit Bourbon and a bottle of Wm. Tarr signed by Stoops, which was presented to the pope during a public forum.

Beyond his holy contributions, Pope Francis is known for having a bit of a hankering for booze. In 2020, he referred to scotch whisky as “the real holy water,” and just this week, he joked that he needed some tequila to help his knee feel better.

In January, Sichka sold a rare bottle of Buffalo Trace’s 1995 O.F.C. Vintage Bourbon and a basketball blessed by Pope Francis for $16,698 at auction and put all of the funds toward recovery in western Kentucky from a Dec. 10 tornado that caused widespread destruction in the area.

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