Pope Francis: His passion for sports
Pope Francis, the first Pope from Latin America, There wasn’t just a spiritual leader With progressive views, but also a man who deeply loved sports.
From an early age to the period when the highest office of the Catholic Church, sports, and especially football, had an important place in his life.
His love of football and his relationship with San Lorenso
Jorge Mario Bergolio, as his secular name was before taking over the leadership of the church, was born in 1936 in Buenos Aires. As a child he grew up in the atmosphere of Argentine football, a country where the sport was not just a sport, but a deeply rooted social and cultural tradition.
From an early age, he fanatically supported San Lorenso, one of the most historic teams in Argentina. The special one with this club was that he had strong ties with the Catholic Church, as he was founded in 1908 by priest Lorenz Masa, who wanted to remove the children of the poor neighborhood from dangerous neighborhoods and encourage them to deal with sports. This social character of San Lorenso perfectly matched the values that Pope Francis believed.
There were a few times that he had publicly stated his support for the team, while keeping the club membership card active even when he became a pope. In 2013, shortly after his election, his team dedicated the championship to win, recognizing him as his most famous fan.
As a Pontiff, Francis used sports as a tool of unity and peace. He believed that football and sport in general could play an important role in the social integration, education and shaping of young people.
In his public speeches, he often made references to values we encounter in sports, such as teamwork and cooperation, discipline and self -sacrifice, respect for the opponent, perseverance and effort to continue improved.
He did not hesitate to meet famous athletes and teams, both from football and other sports. He had welcomed the Vatican the Argentine national, the Italian national team, but also teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid. He always emphasized the value of « good fighting » and the role of sport in promoting peace and understanding between peoples.
One of the most important initiatives he had supported was the « Partido Por La Paz), a charity football match, in which great footballers from around the world participate. The first match was organized in 2014, at the initiative of the Pope himself and the veteran Argentine Ace Javier Zanetti. The aim of these struggles was to strengthen the charity actions of the Catholic Church, but also to disseminate a message of unity and brotherhood.
These competitions involved big names in football, such as Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Gianluigi Buffon. This initiative showed that Francis perceived sports as a means of social change and union of people.
Francis was not limited to football support, but attempted to strengthen the role of the Church in sports. In 2018 he founded « Athletica Vaticana », a group of athletes who represented the Vatican in international events. This move was intended to highlight athletic values through the Church and bringing faith closer to physical exercise.
In addition, in many cases he referred to the problem of racism on the stadiums, condemning any form of discrimination and violence in sports.
A Pope who passionately lived football
Pope Francis has never been just an observer of sports. Football, in particular, was a key part of his life, both as a child who grew up in the slums of Buenos Aires, and as a Pontiff. He saw the sport not only as fun, but as a tool for promoting peace, cooperation and solidarity.
His initiatives, his meetings with athletes and his participation in sports events made him the most football player ever passed through the Vatican. Francis has shown that faith and sport can coexist, creating a message of unity and hope for people around the world.
