The Pope who loved football: How did Francisco the king of sports transferred to the Vatican?
propaganda“Many say that football is The most beautiful sport in the world. I also think that, “Pope Francis announced on one occasion and throughout the papacy, he lived these words. From the streets of Buenos Aires to the Vatican roomsThe love of the late Pope was not a secret. San Lorenzo fan, age, Jorge Mario Bergolio He has always brought his passion for football to the highest position in the Catholic Church.
When news for him Death Monday morningThe Italian series acted immediately, with praise of all the scheduled matches Easter MondayPlay this afternoon (April 23).
It was a moving gestureWhich reflects the deep bond of the Pope with this sport, which was considered a symbol of intimate coincidence, companionship and teamwork. “Football is a group sport. You cannot enjoy alone,” the Pope told many Italian youth, football players and coaches in the Vatican in 2019. “And if you live like this, You can do well in mind and heart In an angry society of subjectivity. “
Like most Argentine children,, Jorge Mario Bergolio He was immersed in the world of football from a young age. He played for hours with his friends in asphalt fields or dusty people known as “PotReRos” in the original Flores neighborhood, in Buenos Aires. However, according to his own evaluation, it was not good… in his autobiography, “Esperanza”, which was recently published, Francisco said that his skills were so bad that they called him “Foot”.
Like many family members, It has become a follower of San LorenzoThe club was founded by the priest Lorenzo Massa in 1908. The team won the first Copa Libertadores championship, the most important championship for the club in South America, in 2014, a year after becoming potatoes. The club’s board of directors and a group of players transferred the cup to the Vatican.
But for Pope Francis, football was more than sport. It was a means of peace, communication and humanity. In 2014, he organized in the Vatican Religions for peaceInviting players from all over the world to participate in the championship.
In the same year, he participated in an emotional confrontation with his countryman Diego MaradonaHe described as a “football poet”. This happened six years before the legendary player died in 2020.
Throughout Pontificate, Francisco is also meet Lionel Messiand Who considers many to kick a ball, and in the Vatican he received a long list of football greats, From Ronaldinho, Mario Balotelli, Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea PirloTo the Croatian national team for Eurocup 2024.
Sacred goats
In an interview with Italian TV “Ray” in 2023, Francisco gave his opinion about who is the best footballer in all ages. When she is asked to choose between Maradona and MessiFrancis chose both the world champion team, Francis, the favorites of other fans.
“I will add a third,” he said. Pele. He met the great BrazilianCatholic lover and winning three times in the World Cup, before choosing the Pope. Francisco later met Messi and Maradona in the Vatican as the Pope. “Maradona, as a player, is great. But as a failure,” said Francisco of the 1986 World Cup winner. Cocaine consumption The Pope added that health problems died in 2020 at the age of 60.
Messi’s descriptionWhich raised the World Cup in 2022, As “very true” And a man. The Pope said: “But for me, among these three, the great man is Pele.”
In a message, read during a greeting to Pellet in Rio de Janeiro a year after his death in 2022, Francisco said, “Many of the necessary virtues To perform athletic activity, such as perseverance, stability and moderation, it is also part of Christian virtues. “Pele was undoubtedly athlete of these positive characteristics of sport in his life.”
He also inspired his love for this sport a pop culture. In the movie “The Two Potatoes”, the 2019 biography starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Price, there is a moving scene in which Francisco and Pindek Finn Together the 2014 World Cup finalGermany against Argentina, its theological differences that were exposed to moments of love shared by the game.
San LorenzoLast year, he announced that he was deliberately resounding in his name, He gave him an emotional greeting In social networks after knowing the news of his death: “He was never one, and he was always one of us.
Several games of the first divisionIt has been postponed since Monday, April 23, they have been played over the past week, and they will definitely have an emotional preparation for the Pope, Those who never stopped the love of the king.
