ROME (AP) — From meetings with Diego Maradona to his passion for San Lorenzo, his beloved club in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis was an avid soccer fan. And a promoter of sports in general.
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Francisco passed away on Monday at the age of 88, and the world of soccer and sports paid tribute to him immediately.
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All sports events scheduled for Monday in Italy were postponed to mourn the death of Francisco, including four Serie A football matches. A minute of silence will be observed before all sports events later in the week, added the Italian Olympic Committee.
“The Italian football community joins the mourning of millions of people following the death of Pope Francis,” expressed the president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina. “He was a great example of Christian care and dignity in the face of suffering and was always attentive to the world of sports and particularly to football, of which he was a fan. He will always remain in the hearts of the faithful and football lovers.”
Pope Francis was a fan of San Lorenzo de Almagro
Like the vast majority of Argentines, Francisco was a soccer fan and enjoyed playing, even if he wasn’t very skilled: “I always liked playing soccer, even if I wasn’t very good. In Buenos Aires, those of us who were like me were called ‘pata dura,’ which is like having two left feet. But I played. I often played as a goalkeeper,” he recounted in the biography “Hope”.
Almost immediately after being elected pope in 2013, Francis’ fondness for San Lorenzo de Almagro became known when the Argentine club tweeted a photo of him holding the club’s shield. He was even a member of the institution with the San Lorenzo membership card No. 88,235, the team nicknamed the “Saint.”
In Italy, it was also suggested that Francisco supported Juventus, as his family came from the Piedmont region where the Turin club is located. Francisco’s father, Mario Bergoglio, was a basketball player.
San Lorenzo, one of the oldest teams in the Argentine Football Association, had a good performance after Francisco was elected as the 266th pope in March 2013.
The team won a national title in 2013 and then conquered the Copa Libertadores de América for the first time a year later. The club’s executives traveled to the Vatican twice, bringing trophies to thank Pope Francis for his support. The club’s next stadium will be called Pope Francis.
“From Jorge Mario Bergoglio to Francisco, there was something that never changed: his love for the Cyclone,” the organization stated on their social media. “Wrapped in deep sorrow, from San Lorenzo today we say to Francisco: Goodbye, thank you, and see you soon! We will be together for eternity!”
In his biography, Pope Francis revealed that he always looked for ways to stay informed about the results of his San Lorenzo. “One of the Swiss guards leaves the results and standings on my desk every week,” said the first Argentine and Latin American pope.
What was Francisco’s relationship with Diego Maradona?
Francisco met his fellow Argentine, Maradona, twice as pope. There was a special audience related to a charity soccer match in 2014 when Maradona presented the pontiff with a soccer jersey with the name “Francisco” and the number ten on the back.
“The only thing I can say today is that I am a fan of Francisco, the first fan of Francisco is me,” said Maradona after another meeting in 2015.
When Maradona passed away in 2020, Francisco remembered the great football player in his prayers.
The social responsibility of sports
During a meeting with the national teams of Argentina and Italy shortly after being elected, Francisco pointed out the influence of athletes, especially on young people, and told the players to remember that, “you are a role model for better or for worse.”
“Dear players, you are very popular. People follow you, not only on the field but also off it,” he said. “That is a social responsibility.”
Francisco often praised sports as a way to promote solidarity and inclusion, especially for young people.
During a global conference on faith and sports in 2016, Francis implored leaders to do a better job of keeping corruption out of the playing field and said that sports must be protected from manipulations and commercial abuses.