SKOKIE (WBBM Newsradio) -- Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker said it was a "delight" to meet Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV during his trip to the Vatican this week.
"Well, I didn't convert him," joked Pritzker during an appearance at a small business in Skokie Friday afternoon. When a reporter asked if the Pope had converted the governor from Judaism, he said no: "Although I have to say, when you're in his presence ... he is very charming and he's a very very kind person."
The governor and his wife M.K. extended a formal invitation for the pope born Robert Prevost in Chicago to visit his home state soon.
The two men reportedly discussed the effects of Operation Midway Blitz during a meeting that included the governor presenting the Pope with a four-pack of Burning Bush Brewery's "Da Pope" mild ale.
Of their meeting, the governor said this: "He has at his core the belief that it is humankind's nature to stand up for the most vulnerable."
