LEXINGTON, Ky. — It sounds like the opening line of a joke: What happens when the pope gets his hands on two bottles of Kentucky bourbon? But it actually occurred and the punch line is heartwarming: the autographed bottles raised tens of thousands of dollars to help poor and sick people, as well as homeless cats and dogs.
The plan was concocted by the Rev. Jim Sichko, a Kentucky-based Roman Catholic priest. He saw an opportunity to turn a signature Kentucky product, and his access to Pope Francis as a papal missionary of mercy, into a way to help those in need by auctioning off bourbon bottles signed by the pope.
“I understand that at times people say, ‘What is this priest doing?’ I get it,” Sichko said in a recent interview. “I think outside the box all the time.”
His unconventional idea raised about $30,000 when Sotheby’s auctioned off two bottles signed by the pope, plus another bourbon bottle autographed by former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.
The proceeds are being divided among organizations selected by Sichko. He presented the first check on Jan. 31 to Paws 4 the Cause, an animal rescue organization in Lexington, Kentucky. Other checks will help hospice care in his native Texas and a legal clinic in Lexington that assists immigrants, he said.
The Catholic Diocese of Lexington, where Sichko is based, will use some of the money to help people in need.
It all began several years ago when Sichko gave Francis a bottle of hard-to-get Pappy Van Winkle bourbon as a gift when the priest visited Rome. After that, Sichko routinely presented a gift, often Kentucky bourbon, when encountering the pope as part of his role as a papal missionary of mercy.
Sichko is one of hundreds of such missionaries appointed by Francis. They are assigned to travel the world spreading kindness, forgiveness, joy and mercy to people they encounter. Sichko, 58, said he travels the world about 300 days a year as a missionary and evangelist.
During a visit to the Vatican last year, Sichko carried with him two bottles of bourbon, but with a different mission. He wanted to spread good to others by having the pope sign the two bottles donated by Willett Distillery in Kentucky. The bottles carried special seals and contained Willett bourbon that had aged for 10 years.
When the time came, he mustered the nerve to seek the papal signatures.
“I just pulled out the bottle of bourbon with a pen,” Sichko recalled. “And he looked at me and he signed it. And I was shocked. And then what I did was I pulled out the other bottle. And he signed that.”
Sichko wasn’t ready for what happened next.
“He looked at both bottles and he looked at me and he said, ‘Father, which one of these is mine?’” Sichko recalled. That led to an uncomfortable confession.
“I said, ‘Neither one of these are for you. I want to come up with a creative way to auction them off for the good of others,’” Sichko said. “And that’s how it came about.”
Sichko’s teammate on the project was Drew Kulsveen, the master distiller at Willett Distillery.
“From the first conversation, our door was open knowing this contribution can impact countless people in need through his work,” Kulsveen said in a statement.
Kulsveen and his wife joined Sichko on the journey to Rome. He called it a “tremendous honor” watching the pope sign the bottles of bourbon from his distillery.
Sichko received a warm welcome from workers at the animal shelter when he arrived carrying a $7,375 donation. Anita Spreitzer, vice president and general manager of Paws 4 the Cause, said it would help pay for an expansion of the shelter that was underway.
Part of the donation, however, will be passed along to another animal rescue group, she said. That brought a hearty approval from Sichko, who said, “That’s the way it goes — give and receive.”
Sichko said he expects to return to the Vatican in about six months but doesn’t know if he will ask the pope to sign more bourbon bottles.
“It loses its flair if you’re constantly getting him to autograph things,” the priest said.
Sichko said he hopes his work has a ripple effect, inspiring acts of kindness by others. It can be as small as opening the door for someone or letting someone go ahead of them in the grocery checkout line.
“Everyone can do something,” Sichko said. “It costs nothing to be kind.
“Our world is turning into a very angry world,” he added. “And I think it’s time that we just chill out a bit and recognize truly what we’re called to be. And that is brothers and sisters. We may all have different skin colors. We may have all different ways of life. But I think we all come from the same place, and that is love and love of God.”