Rome – Of Meetings with Diego Maradona To the passion for his beloved club in Buenos Aires, San Lorenzo, Pope Francis was an avid football fan. And a sports promoter in general.
Francis died on Monday at 88 and the world of football and sport immediately paid tribute.
All sporting events scheduled for Monday in Italy were postponed to cry Francis, including Four top -level football games. A minute of silence will be observed before all sporting events later in the week, added the Italian Olympic Committee.
“Italian football joins the mourning of millions of people after the death of Pope Francis. It was a great example of Christian care and dignity against suffering and was always attentive to the world of sport and particularly football, of which he was a fanatic,” said the president of the Italian Football Federation Gabriele Gravina. “It will always remain in the hearts of the faithful and lovers of football.”
Francis’s passion for football was known almost immediately after being chosen Pope in 2013 when San Lorenzo tweeted a photo of him holding the club’s crest. He was even a club member with cards, with the identification of San Lorenzo No. 88,235.
San Lorenzo is nicknamed “Los Santos”.
In Italy, there were also suggestions that Francis supported Juventus since his family came from the Piedmont region, where Turin Club is located. Francis’s father, Mario Bergoglio, was a basketball player.
San Lorenzo, one of the oldest teams in the Argentine Football Association, served long after Francis was chosen as the 266 Pope in March 2013. The team won a national title in 2013 and then claimed the South America Cup for the first time a year later. Club officials traveled twice to the Vatican with trophies to thank Francis for their support.
A new planned The San Lorenzo stadium will be appointed by Francis.
Francis met his Argentine partner Maradona twice as Pope. There was a special audience in relation to a charity football match in 2014 when Maradona presented a football shirt to the Pontiff, stamped with the name “Francisco”, Spanish for Francis, and Maradona’s number 10.
“I think we all realize that it is a (star)”, ” Maradona said after another meeting in 2015. “I am the best fan of Francis.”
When Maradona died in 2020, Francis recalled great football in his prayers.
Registration 15 times European Soccer Champion Real Madrid also cried Francis in an Instagram message:
“Real Madrid would like to express their condolences to the entire Catholic community for the loss of a historical and universal figure,” said Real Madrid in a statement. “During his pontificate, characterized by the scale of his immense legacy, Pope Francis has represented a huge spirit of solidarity and support for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people.”
During A meeting with the national teams of Argentina and Italy Shortly after being chosen, Francis noticed the influence of athletes, especially in young people, and told the players to remember that “for better or worse” they are models to follow. “Dear players, you are very popular. People follow you, and not only in the field but also of it,” he said. “That is a social responsibility.”
Francis often praised sports as a way to promote solidarity and inclusion, especially for young people.
During a global conference on faith and sport in 2016, Francis implored leaders to do a better job to maintain corruption outside the field and said sports must be protected from manipulations and commercial abuse.
“Francis was a special Pope, capable of illuminating in his time as only the biggest can,” Gianluigi Buffon, the former National Soccer Team of the Italy who met the Pope on multiple occasions, He said on Instagram. “He showed us the way with great courage and moved our souls. I will take his example forever in my heart.”
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