On her trip to Europe this weekend, Gayle Benson is making a stop in Rome to visit Pope Leo XIV with two VIPs as her guests: New Orleans Archbishop James F. Checchio and former Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

The trip to the Vatican on Monday kicks off a weeklong international business trip for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner, who will also head to France to promote the first-ever NFL game to be held there.

The appointment with Leo will be the first for Benson but not for Checchio, who has deep roots in Rome, having served as the rector of the Pontifical North American College there from 2006 to 2016. Leo appointed Checchio as the Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans in September.

The contingent will arrive bearing gifts: Checchio is bringing New Orleans recipes to share with the Pope, while Benson will bring a customized Pope Leo Saints jersey.

Any such visit raises questions about whether a Papal visit to New Orleans could be in the asking. Such a visit has been a point of speculation among Catholics in New Orleans ever since the pope’s family ties to New Orleans have were revealed.

“I am certain it will be mentioned,” said Greg Bensel, the Saints’ vice president of communications and government affairs, who will be part of the team’s contingent on the trip.

Leo, who was chosen as pope in May, was born and raised in Chicago. His maternal grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, were from the 7th Ward of New Orleans and were wed at Our Lady of Sacred Heart on Annette Street in 1887.

The last and only papal visit to New Orleans came in 1987, when Pope John Paul II made a three-day stop as part of his U.S. tour.

The Vatican has been a frequent destination for Benson, a devout Catholic who met her late husband, former Saints owner Tom Benson, at Sunday Mass at St. Louis Cathedral in 2004. She met with Pope Francis at the Vatican during a 10-day trip to Europe in April 2024. She visited Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican during a 2011 trip to Italy and Germany with her late husband.

Benson has helped spearhead efforts to restore St. Louis Cathedral as the primary benefactor of the “Our City, Our Cathedral” campaign, which addresses critical structural decay, interior restoration and long-term maintenance to the iconic French Quarter church.

The Rome stop is the first leg of a busy European trip for Benson. From Rome, the Saints contingent, which includes Benson’s brother, Wayne LaJaunie, will travel to France to promote the Saints’ game in Paris in the 2026 season. The details of the game, including the opponent, playing date and kickoff time, are still uncertain, Bensel said.

The game, which is part of the NFL’s International Series, will be the first-ever in France. Benson is scheduled to attend a press conference to promote the game on Friday, March 27 in Paris. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and right tackle Taliese Fuaga will also attend the event, along with Brett Gosper, the head of NFL Europe and Asia Pacific.

Among the series of business meetings Benson and the Saints contingent have scheduled is a Thursday visit with U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner, who was instrumental in securing the game in Paris.

Shough and Fuaga are scheduled to tour Stade de France, where the Saints game will be played, visit the Paris-Saint Germain soccer club and make a school visit to promote the league’s flag football initiatives. They also will bring Nike products as gifts for the schoolchildren.

The Saints secured the marketing rights to France as part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program in 2023.

“This is a business trip,” Bensel said. “We are there to promote the Saints game, the Saints brand, our flag football planning and implementation in France and in Paris and as a global marketing partner with France, and then of course anything we can do economic development, and business to business. Those are critical pieces of the meetings that we’re having.”