PETALING JAYA: Having celebrated its 30th anniversary, Pokemon has been around for three decades, bringing joy to children and adults through the games, animation and merchandise.
One of the popular items from this gaming franchise is the trading cards. While many are into the gaming aspects of it, others collect it due to its value - the rarer a Pokemon card is, the more value it is worth - going into the millions of Ringgit.
But what if it had an edge - like what if the card was autographed by an important figure - or even blessed by one? Was a Pokemon Card ever blessed by the Pope?
Verdict:
TRUE
In July 2025, Pope Leo XIV had blessed a Pokemon card and signed another card in the Vatican.
He was presented with two Popplio Pokemon cards due to the similarity in the names (Pope Leo and Popplio, they sound similar). The Holy Father blessed a Reverse Holo version and signed a regular version with a ballpoint pen.
Popplio is a water-type, Generation VII Pokemon and one of the three starter Pokemon that players can choose from in the Pokemon Sun and Moon games.
This happened when a Danish Catholic, Tri Nguyen, visited the Vatican pilgrimage organised by Danmarks Unge Katolikker. During the group's trip to Rome, the group had a chance to meet Pope Leo.
The 28-year old, who is of Vietnamese origin and born and raised in Denmark, explained that his meeting with the Pope was surreal and wonderful.
"He (The Pope) just arrived nonchalantly, down to earth, without much bravado. His presence wasn’t intimidating or oppressive. He felt calming to be around.
"His joyous face and speech touched my heart in ways I haven’t experienced before. It was quite the encounter, and quite the privilege to be there," told the Catholic Herald.
Asked about the Popplio connection, Nguyen said: “I am just a huge Pokémon fan who thought that having Pope Leo sign a Popplio card would be really fun because of the similarity in the names.”
He added that he intends to keep the signed card as a “personal artefact” and has placed it in a protective sleeve.
According to Kotaku, Nguyen noted that he has no plans to send the signed card to be graded.
“I don’t want to grade it, it’s just a funny joke that his Holiness indulged in with me, that’s worth more than any monetary value can satisfy," he added.
Interesting enough, the Vatican and the Pokémon franchise have a cordial relationship over the years.
In 2000, the Vatican satellite channel Sat2000 (now called TV2000) described the game as “full of inventive imagination”, said it had “no harmful moral side effects” - adding that it was based on “ties of intense friendship”.
Chances of you getting your Pokemon card signed by the Pope - but it does not mean you should sad. Instead, you can read this to find out what the Pokemon Company (and other brands) has prepared for the anniversary celebration here (https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/travel/2026/02/27/pokemon-brings-childhood-favourites-to-life-30-years-after-its-debut).
Or you can read about the latest Pokemon game, Pokemon Pokopia here: https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2026/03/07/pokmon-pokopia-replaces-conflict-with-creature-comforts
Either way, have fun and don't forget to catch 'em all!
Source:
1. https://thecatholicherald.com/article/pope-leo-blesses-and-signs-pokemon-card-for-pilgrims-in-rome
2. https://www.vice.com/en/article/pope-leo-blessed-and-signed-a-holographic-popplio-pokemon-card/
3. https://kotaku.com/pope-leo-xiv-pokemon-card-autograph-popplio-meme-1851785788
4. https://gizmodo.com/pope-leo-signed-popplio-card-pokemon-2000626305
