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"Many say that football is the most beautiful game in the world. I think so too," Pope Francis once declared - and throughout his papacy, he lived those words.
From the streets of Buenos Aires to the halls of the Vatican, the late Pontiff’s love for the beautiful game was no secret. A lifelong San Lorenzo supporter, Jorge Mario Bergoglio consistently brought his passion for football to the highest office in the Catholic Church.
When news of his passing was confirmed on Monday morning, Italy’s Serie A acted immediately, postponing all matches scheduled for Easter Monday, with games now going ahead this evening (23 April.)
It was a poignant gesture - one that reflected the pope's deep bond with the sport, which he viewed as a symbol of camaraderie, fellowship and teamwork. “Soccer is a team sport. You can’t have fun alone,” the pope told a crowd of Italian youth, soccer players and coaches at the Vatican in 2019. “And if it’s lived like that, it can do good for your mind and your heart in a society that is exasperated by subjectivism.”
San Lorenzo de Almagro team pose in front of a banner with a photo of Pope Francis and the colors of the team before an Argentina's league soccer match, 31 March 2013. - Credit: AP Photo
Pope Francis twirls a soccer ball he was presented by a member of the Circus of Cuba, during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican. 2019. - Credit: AP Photo
Like most Argentine children, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was immersed in the world of football from a very early age. He played for hours with friends on pavement or dusty pitches known as “potreros” in his native Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
However, according to his own assessment, he was not that good... In his recently published autobiography “Hope,” Francis said his skills were so poor that he was nicknamed “hard foot.”
Like many in his family, he became a devoted supporter of San Lorenzo, a club founded by priest Lorenzo ***** in 1908. The team won its first Copa Libertadores, the top club tournament in South America, in 2014 - a year after he became pope. The club’s board of directors and a group of players took the trophy to the Vatican.
Related
Pope Francis holds a San Lorenzo shirt after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, 31 March 2013. - Credit: AP Photo
But for Pope Francis, football was more than just sport. It was a vehicle for peace, connection, and humanity. In 2014, he organised the Vatican’s "Interreligious Match for Peace", inviting players from around the world to participate in a tournament.
That same year, he shared an emotional meeting with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who he described as the "poet of soccer". This came six years before the legendary player’s death in 2020.
Footballing legend Diego Armando Maradona, left, greets Pope Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, 1 September 2014. - Credit: AP Photo
Maradona presents Pope Francis with an Argentine national soccer team jersey bearing the name Francisco on it - Credit: Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo
Throughout his pontificate, Francis also met with Lionel Messi, who many consider to be the best to ever kick a ball, and welcomed a long list of other footballing greats to the Vatican, from Ronaldinho, Mario Balotelli, Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo, to the Croatian national team ahead of UEFA EURO 2024.
In an interview with Italy’s RAI television in 2023, Francis gave his view on who is the greatest football player of all time.
Asked to pick between Maradona and Messi, both generation defying World Cup winning captains, Francis’ opted for another fan favourite.
“I will add a third,” he said. “Pelé."
He met the Brazilian great, a devout Catholic and three-time World Cup winner, before he was elected pope.
“Maradona, as a player, was great. But as a man he failed,” Francis said about the 1986 World Cup winner, who struggled with cocaine use and health issues and died in 2020 at 60. Maradona was celebrated by people who in the end didn’t help him, the pope added.
He described Messi, who lifted the World Cup trophy in 2022, as “very correct” and a gentleman.
“But for me, among those three, the great gentleman is Pelé,” the pope said.
In a message read during a tribute to Pelé in Rio de Janeiro a year after his death in 2022, Francis said “many of the necessary virtues to perform a sporting activity, such as perseverance, stability and temperance, are also part of Christian virtues. Pelé was undoubtedly an athlete who manifested these positive characteristics of sport in his life.”
In this June 10, 1987 file photo, former Brazilian football leged Pele, center, clasps hands with Italy's Alessandro Altobelli, left and Argentine captain Diego Maradona. - AP/AP1987
His love for the sport also inspired pop culture. In The Two Popes, a 2019 biographical drama film starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, there’s a touching scene where Francis and Benedict watch the 2014 World Cup Final together - Germany versus Argentina - their theological differences momentarily eclipsed by a shared love for the game.
Pope Francis embraces Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho during a meeting with the Scholas Occurrentes, an educational organization founded by the Pope, 2016. - Credit: AP Photo
Pope Francis greets Gianluigi Buffon during a Vatican meeting with Juventus and Lazio before the Italy Cup final, 16 May 2017. - Credit: L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP
The late Pope Francis is depicted on a mural alongside soccer player Lionel Messi at the Carlos Mugica neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, 21 April 2025. - Credit: AP Photo
Pope Francis poses with Italy’s National Amputee Football team during a sports event at the Vatican, 7 June 2014. - Credit: AP Photo
San Lorenzo, which announced last year it would name its new stadium in his honour, posted an emotional tribute to him on social media following the news of his passing, stating: "He was never just another, and he was always one of us. A Cuervo (nickname for a San Lorenzo fan) as a child and as a man… a Cuervo as a priest and as a Cardinal… a Cuervo even as Pope….."
Candles surround a portrait of the late Pope Francis, draped in a San Lorenzo banner, at Buenos Aires Cathedral, 21 April 2025. - Credit: AP Photo
Several Serie A fixtures, rescheduled from Monday (23 April), go ahead this evening - sure to be marked by moving tributes to the pope who never stopped loving the beautiful game.
Continue reading...
From the streets of Buenos Aires to the halls of the Vatican, the late Pontiff’s love for the beautiful game was no secret. A lifelong San Lorenzo supporter, Jorge Mario Bergoglio consistently brought his passion for football to the highest office in the Catholic Church.
When news of his passing was confirmed on Monday morning, Italy’s Serie A acted immediately, postponing all matches scheduled for Easter Monday, with games now going ahead this evening (23 April.)
It was a poignant gesture - one that reflected the pope's deep bond with the sport, which he viewed as a symbol of camaraderie, fellowship and teamwork. “Soccer is a team sport. You can’t have fun alone,” the pope told a crowd of Italian youth, soccer players and coaches at the Vatican in 2019. “And if it’s lived like that, it can do good for your mind and your heart in a society that is exasperated by subjectivism.”
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San Lorenzo de Almagro team pose in front of a banner with a photo of Pope Francis and the colors of the team before an Argentina's league soccer match, 31 March 2013. - Credit: AP Photo
You must be registered for see images attach
Pope Francis twirls a soccer ball he was presented by a member of the Circus of Cuba, during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican. 2019. - Credit: AP Photo
Like most Argentine children, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was immersed in the world of football from a very early age. He played for hours with friends on pavement or dusty pitches known as “potreros” in his native Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
However, according to his own assessment, he was not that good... In his recently published autobiography “Hope,” Francis said his skills were so poor that he was nicknamed “hard foot.”
Like many in his family, he became a devoted supporter of San Lorenzo, a club founded by priest Lorenzo ***** in 1908. The team won its first Copa Libertadores, the top club tournament in South America, in 2014 - a year after he became pope. The club’s board of directors and a group of players took the trophy to the Vatican.
Related
- Football-loving Brazilian nun becomes world’s oldest living person at nearly 117
- The art of Pope Francis: What was the Catholic spiritual leader’s cultural legacy?
You must be registered for see images attach
Pope Francis holds a San Lorenzo shirt after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, 31 March 2013. - Credit: AP Photo
But for Pope Francis, football was more than just sport. It was a vehicle for peace, connection, and humanity. In 2014, he organised the Vatican’s "Interreligious Match for Peace", inviting players from around the world to participate in a tournament.
That same year, he shared an emotional meeting with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who he described as the "poet of soccer". This came six years before the legendary player’s death in 2020.
You must be registered for see images attach
Footballing legend Diego Armando Maradona, left, greets Pope Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, 1 September 2014. - Credit: AP Photo
You must be registered for see images attach
Maradona presents Pope Francis with an Argentine national soccer team jersey bearing the name Francisco on it - Credit: Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo
Throughout his pontificate, Francis also met with Lionel Messi, who many consider to be the best to ever kick a ball, and welcomed a long list of other footballing greats to the Vatican, from Ronaldinho, Mario Balotelli, Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo, to the Croatian national team ahead of UEFA EURO 2024.
The Holy G.O.A.T
In an interview with Italy’s RAI television in 2023, Francis gave his view on who is the greatest football player of all time.
Asked to pick between Maradona and Messi, both generation defying World Cup winning captains, Francis’ opted for another fan favourite.
“I will add a third,” he said. “Pelé."
He met the Brazilian great, a devout Catholic and three-time World Cup winner, before he was elected pope.
“Maradona, as a player, was great. But as a man he failed,” Francis said about the 1986 World Cup winner, who struggled with cocaine use and health issues and died in 2020 at 60. Maradona was celebrated by people who in the end didn’t help him, the pope added.
He described Messi, who lifted the World Cup trophy in 2022, as “very correct” and a gentleman.
“But for me, among those three, the great gentleman is Pelé,” the pope said.
In a message read during a tribute to Pelé in Rio de Janeiro a year after his death in 2022, Francis said “many of the necessary virtues to perform a sporting activity, such as perseverance, stability and temperance, are also part of Christian virtues. Pelé was undoubtedly an athlete who manifested these positive characteristics of sport in his life.”
You must be registered for see images attach
In this June 10, 1987 file photo, former Brazilian football leged Pele, center, clasps hands with Italy's Alessandro Altobelli, left and Argentine captain Diego Maradona. - AP/AP1987
His love for the sport also inspired pop culture. In The Two Popes, a 2019 biographical drama film starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, there’s a touching scene where Francis and Benedict watch the 2014 World Cup Final together - Germany versus Argentina - their theological differences momentarily eclipsed by a shared love for the game.
You must be registered for see images attach
Pope Francis embraces Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho during a meeting with the Scholas Occurrentes, an educational organization founded by the Pope, 2016. - Credit: AP Photo
You must be registered for see images attach
Pope Francis greets Gianluigi Buffon during a Vatican meeting with Juventus and Lazio before the Italy Cup final, 16 May 2017. - Credit: L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP
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The late Pope Francis is depicted on a mural alongside soccer player Lionel Messi at the Carlos Mugica neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, 21 April 2025. - Credit: AP Photo
You must be registered for see images attach
Pope Francis poses with Italy’s National Amputee Football team during a sports event at the Vatican, 7 June 2014. - Credit: AP Photo
San Lorenzo, which announced last year it would name its new stadium in his honour, posted an emotional tribute to him on social media following the news of his passing, stating: "He was never just another, and he was always one of us. A Cuervo (nickname for a San Lorenzo fan) as a child and as a man… a Cuervo as a priest and as a Cardinal… a Cuervo even as Pope….."
You must be registered for see images attach
Candles surround a portrait of the late Pope Francis, draped in a San Lorenzo banner, at Buenos Aires Cathedral, 21 April 2025. - Credit: AP Photo
Several Serie A fixtures, rescheduled from Monday (23 April), go ahead this evening - sure to be marked by moving tributes to the pope who never stopped loving the beautiful game.
Continue reading...
