Pope Francis signs the shirt of Mateo, an 11-year-old boy murdered in Spain, during the flight to Indonesia

The murder on August 18 of Mateo Gómez, an 11-year-old boy who was stabbed while playing soccer, shocked Spain. Today, his shirt has reached the hands of Pope Francis.

A murder that shocked Spain

On a summer afternoon in the quiet town of Mocejón, Toledo (Spain), the 11-year-old boy was playing soccer with his friends when a young man with his face covered entered the field with a knife.

Many of the children managed to escape, but the alleged murderer, aged 20, caught up with Mateo, whom he stabbed 12 times.

Mateo’s uncle, who was near the scene, tried to revive his nephew, but unfortunately he died before the emergency services arrived.

The confessed murderer, who suffers from a 75% disability, fled from the soccer field and spent 30 hours in search and capture, until he was found by the Civil Guard at his father’s house.

Pope Francis signs Mateo’s shirt

During the flight to Indonesia this September 3, the first stage of his extensive trip through Asia and Oceania, Pope Francis signed the little boy’s soccer team shirt, red and with Mateo’s name written in white letters.

It was Cope’s correspondent in the Vatican, the Spanish Eva Fernández, who presented the shirt to the Holy Father on behalf of her family.

The journalist told him what happened and the Pontiff placed his hand on the shirt to pray for the little boy and then signed his name.

Eva also gave him a letter written by the little boy’s mother and Pope Francis gave him a Rosary for her.