No, Pope Leo XIV did not mail dead rats to American radio stations to promote The Boomtown Rats

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This claim was made in a recent Word in Your Ear podcast, but sadly it appears not to be true.

In fact, the young Bobby Prevost, as the Holy Father was then known, was a temporary replacement for the man who did mail the rats.

So close, but no cigar. You can read the full details on Facebook. And Mike Bone tells the same story on Best Classic Bands, but doesn't mention the young temp there.