Celebrity Jenny McCarthy Reveals She Gifted Her Mom an Item That She Stole from the Pope: 'It's a Whole Story' "My mom's like, 'You know, this is not okay,'" McCarthy laughed By Esther Kang Esther Kang Esther Kang is a writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and has previously worked for publications like TMZ and TooFab. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 17, 2024 03:48PM EDT Close Jenny McCarthy (left) and Pope Francis . Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images; Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images Jenny McCarthy has a confession to make and it involves a holy world figure! While appearing on Sirius XM's Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa on Wednesday, July 17, the Masked Singer judge, 51, recalled the moment she narrowly missed the Pope but secretly swiped an item from his apartment during a trip to Italy. "I stole a cross from the Vatican and gave it to my mother," McCarthy told host Kelly Ripa. "My mom's like, 'You know, this is not okay.'" Jenny McCarthy and her mom at the 'Dirty Love' Los Angeles Premiere. Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Jenny McCarthy Shares How Kelly Ripa Supported Her When Son Was Diagnosed with Autism: 'I'll Always Be Indebted' The former Playboy model admitted that it "wasn't me personally" who took the item but rather her girlfriends who accompanied her to an event. "I was invited [to the Vatican] when I was in Italy, I was there for an eyeglass party or whatever, and they were like, 'Do you want to go meet the Pope? Actually, the Pope's not in town, but we can go in his apartment.' I was like, 'What?' So we went, we literally at midnight went in the back of the Vatican and I went in his apartment and his hallways," she explained. "I tried on his hat. It was crazy," she continued, adding that she didn't know anything was taken until later. "It's a whole story but my girlfriend came with me and when I got home in the hotel room, she goes, 'I know your mom loves the Pope so much, so I stole her...'" Jenny McCarthy Reveals Romantic Gesture Donnie Wahlberg Does Every Monday That Still 'Gives Me Butterflies' (Exclusive) (L) Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg. Kevin Mazur/Getty McCarthy has been open about her Catholic upbringing. In fact, the model revealed that her faith was responsible for her meeting her now-husband Donnie Wahlberg during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in April. After going through "a slew of uncomfortable and not healthy relationships," she explained that she turned to spirituality to find the perfect partner. "I've always been spiritual. I'm always into new age. I love improving myself. But I'm like ‘I’m really going to let the universe know I am shutting this down,'" McCarthy said, adding that she stopped doing "any dating" in order to "really focus on me." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I’m like, ‘If I can upgrade me, then I’m going to upgrade the people I surround myself with and who I bring into my life,'" she said. "And I told God, I was like, ‘Listen, don’t bring me [a] half-baked guy. I'm going to fully bake myself.'" "I wasn't really looking for anyone in particular at the moment I met Donnie. But I went a full year into letting go of the demons [and] recognizing why I went into those patterns. A lot of it had to do with self-love and loving myself and knowing I was good enough," McCarthy continued.