LOOK: Pope Francis blesses Hawks’ Martin Luther King Jr. jersey on civil rights chief’s birthday

On Monday, the Atlanta Hawks will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and wear jerseys dedicated to the civil rights activist. While the message of social justice will be hugely powerful, now the jerseys will have an even bigger meaning.

In a video the Hawks shared on the team’s official Twitter account, Pope Francis received a gift of one of the jerseys since Friday, the 92nd birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Pope Francis particularly blessed the jersey and had a number 1 and “Francis” on the back.

Pope Francis eventually signed the jersey too.

Pope Francis is a big supporter of the NBA’s social justice efforts over the past year. In November, Marco Belinelli, Sterling Brown, Jonathan Isaac, Kyle Korver, Anthony Tolliver, and the Executive Director of the NBA Players’ Association, Michele Roberts, actually traveled to the Vatican and met with Pope Francis to discuss what the League was about their activities are doing social justice efforts.

The Hawks will wear Martin Luther King Jr.’s City Edition uniforms on Monday, and the State Farm Arena court will also honor the civil rights leader. In addition, profits from jersey sales go directly to the Atlanta community.