Rockford natives waste no time in announcing first Pope Leo XIV bobbleheads

May 9, 2025|By Kevin Haas|In News, 815 News, Local, Rockford, Trending, Rock River Current
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the first bobbleheads of Pope Leo XIV on Friday, May 9, 2025. (Photo provided by National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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MILWAUKEE — The Rockford natives behind The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum have wasted no time in commemorating the first ever pope born in the United States.

Museum co-founders Phil Sklar and Brad Novak, both Guilford High School graduates, announced Friday the first Pope Leo XIV commemorative bobbleheads. Their announcement came less than 24 hours after Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, was elected the 267th pontiff.

“We are thrilled to continue the tradition of bobbleheads celebrating the newest pope with the unveiling of these bobbleheads featuring Pope Leo XIV,” Sklar said in a news release. “Bobblehead are the perfect way to show off your admiration for a given person, and with the excitement surrounding the first pope from North America, we know the Pope Leo XIV bobbleheads are going to be very popular.”

The bobbleheads commemorates the introduction of Pope Leo XIV on the Vatican balcony at St. Peter’s Square. He’s depicted waving to the crowd wearing a traditional white cassock, red pellegrina, red and gold stole and pectoral cross. A second Pope Leo XIV bobblehead features him wearing a white cassock with attached pellegrina and girded with a fringed white fascia, a pectoral cross suspended from and gold cord and a white zucchetto.

Each bobblehead is individually numbered and only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. The bobbleheads are $30 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8. They are expected to ship in November. A limited number of bobbleheads of Pope Francis are also still available.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, 170 S. First St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened in February 2019 and boasts a collection of more than 10,000 bobbleheads.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas