VATICAN CITY — As soon as Mayor Brandon Johnson arrived at St. Peter’s Square on Thursday, a flock of Chicago tourists noticed him and shouted, “That’s my mayor!”

After the group got photos with Johnson, he walked around the square to briefly take it all in before getting back into a black van and driving around the Vatican, entering through a back entrance without talking to reporters. A line of over a dozen black vans with members of the Chicago delegation, including Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), also drove into the Vatican.

Johnson is in Rome for a special meeting with Pope Leo XIV. The mayor brought with him a gift chest filled with Chicago-themed items — and an ask that the pope conduct Mass in Grant Park.

Here’s what’s inside the pope’s goodie bag:

Angela Tovar, Commissioner, Department of Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer, gifts a jar of honey to Lorenza Bonaccorsi, President of Municipio I, after members of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s delegation tour Mercato dell’ Unità in Rome on May 27, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Johnson presented Pope Leo with a Key to the city of Chicago and an invitation to return home and deliver Mass in Grant Park. 

White Sox hat with the Italian flag and J.P. Graziano giardiniera

An “Immigrants Make America Greater” hat from Chicago sister cities international program 

The pope’s parents’ diplomas from DePaul University 

Pope Leo Cubs Jersey and two Cubs hats from the Cubs

Chicago flag, Chicago tote bag and ceremonial Chicago street sign

Honey from the Chicago Cultural Center roof

Brass tray with Chicago lakefront etchings, three Chicago flag field notes, a World Business Chicago tote bag from the City of Chicago and World Business Chicago 

“Everything dope including the pope comes from Chicago” T-shirts from Shermann “Dilla” Thomas 

Cornerstones book and a poster of stained glass from M.A.A.F.A Redemption Project Church and the Rev. Marshall E. Hatch Sr.  

Letters from parishioners at St. Benedict the African in Englewood, written by a 5-year-old and 9-year-old and their mom with expressions of gratitude for his leadership 

Frango Mints from Catholic Charities 

Hat and jersey from Chicago Sky 

Hat from DePaul University 

Letters from families of detained immigrants  

Hat from Loyola University 

“Blood Works” by Bishop Horace Smith

Southwest community ICE watch pin 

Sanctuary city pin 

“Resisting tyrants since pharaoh,” White Sox kippah and White Sox pope T-shirt from Mishkan Chicago 

Silver dove necklace representing peace and Image of the Eucharist procession in Broadview

“I am somebody” sweatshirt, “Keep Hope Alive” apparel from Rainbow Push  

Union strike pin in a silver box books and letter from St. Mary’s College 

“The Legacies of Sr. Madeleva Wolff, CSC,” edited by Jessica Coblentz and Susan Mancino 

“Saint Mary’s College,” by Amanda Divine and Colin-Elizabeth Pier 

“God Bless the Westside” T-shirt from Ervin

“Operation Breadbasket: An Untold Story of Civil Rights in Chicago” by Martin L. Deppe 

“Keeping Hope Alive: Sermons and Speeches of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.,” edited by Grace Ji-Sun Kim 

Mayor Brandon Johnson brought Pope Leo a crate of Chicago goodies on May 28, 2026 in Rome. Credit: Vashon Jordan Jr., Mayor’s Press Office

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann, founder of Mishkan Chicago in Ravenwsood, was seen greeting Johnson inside the Vatican in a video sent by the Mayor’s Office.

Johnson has said he’s planning to express to Pope Leo the “enormous amount” of gratitude and pride Chicagoans have in him. They also plan to discuss the pope’s recent stances against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, the pope’s perspective on the need for the regulation of AI and his apology for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery, two points released this week as part of his first encyclical.

Historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas was thrilled that his shirt was included in the pope’s gift box.

“I am very, very honored that the city would include my T-shirt in the gift bag to the pope,” Thomas told Block Club Wednesday. “And I hope that the T-shirt symbolizes our pride.

Whether you’re Jewish or Muslim or don’t have any religious affiliations at all, to have somebody who is a leader to a billion followers should be something that all Chicagoans are proud of.”

During his general audience Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo — the first pope born in the United States — criticized the United States’ war in Iran, called for peace in Gaza and showed solidarity with Ukrainians under attack by Russia.

“War never solves problems, but aggravates it,” he said in Italian. “It does not build, but multiplies the sufferings of others. Where missiles and drones fall, hope also falls. “It destroys houses and it destroys innocent lives.”

Pope Leo has “elevated the consciousness of the globe around his position and stance around our collective humanity,” Johnson previously said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson interacts with tourists who recognized him at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City ahead of his meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Thurs., May 28, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The two will have a private meeting Thursday in the Vatican Apostolic Library, followed by the pope hosting the delegation of 46 Chicagoans from the political, business, religious, labor and hospitality sectors.

Members of the delegation include alds. Julia Ramirez (12th), Lamont Robinson (4th) and Ervin and his wife; city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin; Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates; the Rev. Tanya Lozano Washington, pastor of Lincoln United Methodist Church and Healthy Hood CEO; and Yusef Jackson, president of the Rainbow Push Coalition.

High-profile civil rights attorney Antonio Romanucci is also in attendance. He has represented George Floyd and Renee Good’s family and is representing the family of Derek Jordan, who a Chicago police officer killed during a traffic chase in Humboldt Park in March.

Maria Simon of the Archdiocese of Chicago,Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Communications Director Erin Connelly, Deputy Mayor of Business and Neighborhood Development Max Budovitch, senior advisor to Mayor Brandon Johnson Jason Lee, Commissioner of the Department of Environment and Chief Sustainability Office Angela Tovar and Father Juan Vargas listen as members of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s delegation tour Casale dei Cedrati, Via Aurelia Antica, 219, in Rome on May 27, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The Rev. Juan Vargas, associate pastor with the Archdiocese of Chicago at Our Lady of the Rosary in Dunning, is also traveling with the mayor.

Vargas and his team worked with Johnson and Catholic Charities to open a migrant shelter at St. Bartholomew’s former school building in 2024, so having the opportunity to speak to the pope about immigration and represent Chicago is timely and historic, he told Block Club Wednesday. Pope Leo has been outspoken against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, the war in the Middle East and other political issues.

“Pope Leo speaks with a voice that hears the cry of the whole world, and so coming from Chicago, we’re more attentive to that voice because we know where he comes from, we know his roots,” Vargas said. “Pope Leo has been able to open up that dialogue, and it’s challenging at times, [but] every time in our faith we are always challenged because we’re invited to continue to grow.

Chicagoans have flocked to the Vatican this week, some to see the South Side-born pope in real life during his Wednesday general audience, while others stumbled into St. Peter’s Square showcasing their Chicago pride as a pitstop on their Italy vacation.

Mayor Brandon Johnson brought Pope Leo a crate of Chicago goodies on May 28, 2026 in Rome. Credit: Vashon Jordan Jr., Mayor’s Press Office