Among the tens of thousands of mourners who paid tribute to the coffin of Pope Francis last week were Gianluigi Buffon, the Italian goalkeeper world champion. Visibly excited, Buffon was accompanied by Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (Figc), as well as for the template and coaching staff of Lazio. (The Società Sportiva Lazio is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome).
Pope Francis was a lifelong football fan and his death was perhaps more sense among the fans of the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, a team that followed since his childhood. During Saturday’s game, the club paid tribute to his most famous fan. San Lorenzo players wore a patch on their shirts with the image of Pope Francis smiling and wearing their papal habit, accompanied by the phrase “Together for eternity“.
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“The Pope leaves an unwavering legacy,” declared Reuters the president of the San Lorenzo ClubMarcelo Moretti. “For all the Sanlorencistas it was a huge pride. It is a very sad day.” Moretti recently met with Pope Francis and obtained his approval so that the new stadium of the club be named.
The partner of the deceased Pope in San Lorenzo was 88235, and the faithful of the club have indicated the strange symbolism of the number given to Jorge Mario Bergoglio when he became a member and the age and time of Francisco’s death.
“He died at age 88, at 2:35 (Buenos Aires time) and was partner 88235,” observed a San Lorenzo fan in X.
When San Lorenzo finally won the coveted Copa Libertadores in 2014, the team had a trophy replica to introduce the jubilant Pope Francis in Rome.
During his pontificate, Pope Francis received numerous professional players in the Vatican, including the Argentine world champion Diego Maradona, who attributed to the Pope to have returned the faith. He also received Lionel Messi and openly expressed his admiration for Pelé.
After Francisco’s death on Easter Monday, there were a series of notable expressions of sympathy and respect in football stadiums around the world.
In Milan, the derby between the Inter and AC Milan It was marked by a minute of respect when both teams aligned to applaud and the stadium’s megafony system reproduced the issue of Ennio Morricone Gabriel’s oboe of The missiona film about the first Jesuit missionaries in Latin America.
In Scotland, a match between the Glasgow Celtic, future champion, and the Dundee United, was preceded by A minute of silence impeccable by both hobbies. Both clubs have their origins in the Catholic communities of their respective cities.
The Dundee United FC was originally founded as Duendee Hibernian in 1909, with a strong connection with the Irish Catholic community of Dundee. The club was created to provide opportunities to young Irish Catholic immigrants.
The Glasgow Celtic, the first British club that won the European Cup in 1967, was founded by an Irish Catholic priest, Brother Walfrid. The Catholic faith is indelibly linked to the club, as demonstrated by its official visit to Pope Francis in November 2023. The club was in Rome for a Champions League match.
In his official welcome, Pope Francis highlighted the origins of Celtic among Irish low -income immigrants in Glasgow, addressing songs that resonated throughout his papacy. Highlighting the importance of the identity of the club inside and outside the countryside, he said: “The valuable legacy of their club imposes a great responsibility for being good models to follow, especially for young people.”
The world of football has shown respect for the papacy over the years, especially in time of grief. In April 2005, a match between the Polish clubs Lech Poznan and Mks Pogon Szczecin was unexpectedly interrupted at 38 minutes when the fans began to chant asking for the interruption of the game and an amateur ran to the field to indicate the referee to stop the match. The players gathered to pray in the central circle and 15,000 fans sang the national anthem. People cried. A television channel erroneously reported the death of Pope John Paul II and the news spread among fans.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Patrick J. Passmore
Patrick J. Passmore lives on the northern coast of Ireland. He has collaborated with St. Brigid Media in various projects such as consultant and editor.