NBA: Celtics co-owner gives Pope Francis a personalized jersey

Are the NBA's Boston Celtics turning to Divine Providence to ensure another title run?

That could be the case, after the team's minority owner presented a Celtics jersey to Pope Francis when they met at the Vatican, Wednesday.

"The Pope was given Roma gear but also a Celtics jersey with the No. 1 and 'The Pope' written on the back. Can banner No. 18 be far behind?" read a post on the Boston Globe's Celtics blog.

The Celtics' Instagram account had photographic evidence of minority owner Jim Pallotta presenting the jersey to the Pope.

The Boston NBA franchise currently has 17 NBA titles. They lost in six games this season in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs against the New York Knicks.

The Celtics Blog said Pallotta was in town as president of the soccer team AS Roma, which was scheduled to have a match against city rival Lazio.

And the Pope's reaction? "OK, cool. He smiled. He digs it!" Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine said in his blog.

Devine, however, also pointed out #1 had been retired for Walter Brown, the team's founder.

"So long as Pope Francis doesn't try to check into the Celtics' next home game rocking the retired kit, though, we're betting neither Brown's descendants nor the NBA will mind too much," Devine wrote.

The Yahoo blog entry also cited a New Age article quoting Pallotta, a Catholic, as saying his meeting with Pope Francis was "one of the most emotional experiences in my life."

Dalai Lama wears Pelicans hat

Devine also points out though that the Celtics were not the only NBA team to get a religious leader's nod.

His Holiness Dalai Lama just sporting a New Orleans Pelicans hat.cc: @christrew @3amdan--- twitter.com/jgallagher41/s…

— Jason Gallagher (@jgallagher41) May 17, 2013

A week earlier, Yahoo Sports posted a Twitter photo posted by Jason Gallagher showing the Dalai Lama wearing a cap of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Devine said the Dalai Lama wore the cap during a visit to New Orleans "to show appreciation for his hosts while on a speaking tour." - AMD, GMA News