Father Jim Sichko, a priest in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, and a papal Missionary of Mercy, told CNA that the charity auction came about from Sichko’s habit of bringing Kentucky bourbon to the Holy Father and other Vatican officials during his trips to Rome.
“It is a tradition in my family’s household to always bring a gift,” he said. “And since I’m from Kentucky, bourbon represents our state; it’s our livelihood.”
A special papal 10-year anniversary bottle of Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbon signed by Pope Francis. Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Sichko first presented Pope Francis with a bottle of rare Pappy Van Winkle bourbon in 2018. The exchange went viral, leading the priest to regularly bring the Holy Father a bottle of Kentucky’s most well-known export when visiting the Eternal City.
Last year Sichko opted to do a “barrel pick” at Willett Distillery in Bardstown in honor of Pope Francis’ 10-year anniversary as pope.
A barrel pick allows a customer to choose a specific barrel of whiskey as part of a commemorative bottling, complete with a distinctive label.
This year the priest made a second barrel pick in honor of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Mercy.
A special Jubilee Year of Mercy 2025 bottle of Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbon signed by Pope Francis. Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby’s
In both picks, Sichko saved the first bottle of the barrels while donating the rest of each to charity, planning to have the pope sign the first bottles for a special charity effort.
Sichko said he presented the Holy Father with the two bottles on a trip to the Vatican in May. Pope Francis signed both and then asked the priest: “Which one is mine?”
“And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, neither!’” Sichko said, laughing.
The whiskies are currently up for online bidding. A live auction will ultimately take place in New York at Sotheby’s on Dec. 7.
The funds raised from the auctions — estimated by Sotheby’s at upward of $10,000 per bottle — will be donated to several charities, the priest said, including Southeast Texas Hospice as well as Maxwell Street Legal Clinic.
The latter assists immigrants in Kentucky with legal needs.
The proceeds will also go toward an assistance ministry run by Sichko as well as a no-kill animal shelter in Kentucky.
The immigration legal clinic, Sichko said, is a nod toward Pope Francis’ particular concern for migrants, while the animal shelter evokes the patronage toward animals displayed by St. Francis of Assisi, the pope’s papal namesake.
The priest said that Sotheby’s has waived its normal auction fees in honor of the charity. “That’s major for an auction house to do that,” he said.
The pope, meanwhile, reportedly knows the high quality of Kentucky whiskey having pronounced the Pappy Van Winkle “very good bourbon” upon receiving it.