BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) 鈥 Pope Francis鈥 passion for soccer was evident throughout his pontificate.
A lifelong supporter of Argentine club San Lorenzo, he agreed with those who describe soccer as the most beautiful game in the world. But Francis, also turned to the sport for anecdotes about camaraderie, fellowship and teamwork in an increasingly individualistic society.
鈥淪occer is a team sport. You can鈥檛 have fun alone,鈥 the pope told a crowd of Italian youth, soccer players and coaches at the Vatican . 鈥淎nd if it鈥檚 lived like that, it can do good for your mind and your heart in a society that is exasperated by subjectivism.鈥
Like most Argentine children, young Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew up with soccer. He played for hours with friends on sidewalks or dusty pitches known as 鈥減otreros鈥 in his native Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
According to his own assessment, he was not that good.
In his recently published autobiography 鈥淗ope,鈥 Francis said his skills were so poor that he was nicknamed 鈥渉ard foot.鈥
Like many in his family, he became a supporter of , a club founded by priest Lorenzo Massa in 1908. Its fans are nicknamed 鈥渢he crows鈥 due to the black cassock of its founder.
As a boy, he became fascinated by the colorful style of play of the team that won the local title in 1946. Until his death he remembered the entire lineup.
San Lorenzo won its first Copa Libertadores, the top club tournament in South America, in 2014 鈥 a year after he became pope. The club鈥檚 board of directors and a group of players took the trophy to the Vatican.
Later, club executives decided to after Pope Francis, who until the end paid his dues to the club as member No. 88,235.
The greatest of all time?
In an interview with Italy鈥檚 RAI television in 2023, Francis weighed in on the debate about who is the greatest soccer player of all time.
Asked to choose between his compatriots Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, World Cup winners from different generations, Francis鈥 answer was unexpected.
鈥淚 will add a third,鈥 he said. 鈥淧el茅."
He met the Brazilian great, a devout Catholic and three-time World Cup winner, before he was elected pope. Francis later met Messi and Maradona at the Vatican as pontiff.
鈥淢aradona, as a player, was great. But as a man he failed,鈥 Francis said about the 1986 World Cup winner, who struggled with cocaine use and health issues and at 60. Maradona was celebrated by people who in the end didn鈥檛 help him, the pope added.
He described Messi, who lifted the World Cup trophy in , as 鈥渧ery correct鈥 and a gentleman.
鈥淏ut for me, among those three, the great gentleman is Pel茅,鈥 the pope said.
In a message read during a tribute to Pel茅 in Rio de Janeiro a year after his , Francis said 鈥渕any of the necessary virtues to perform a sporting activity, such as perseverance, stability and temperance, are also part of Christian virtues. Pel茅 was undoubtedly an athlete who manifested these positive characteristics of sport in his life.鈥
The World Cup final he didn't watch
Despite being a big soccer fan, Francis didn鈥檛 watch any games on television. He said he avoided watching TV altogether because of a promise he had made to the Virgin of Carmen in 1990.
The radio became his means to stay informed and listen to soccer matches until he moved to Rome.
Once in the Vatican, members of the Swiss Guard, who took care of his security, informed him about San Lorenzo and Argentina match results.
That鈥檚 how he found out that Argentina had won their third World Cup title in Qatar after a penalty shootout against France.
While he was enthusiastic about the game, he spoke out against the fanaticism and violence that sometimes overshadow it. He called on top-level players to show humility and always remember their origins.
鈥淒on鈥檛 forget where you came from. Those pitches in the outskirts, that place for prayer, that small club,鈥 he said in the 2019 speech.
鈥淚 hope you can always feel the gratitude for your story, which is made of sacrifice, victories and battles,鈥 Francis added. 鈥淏eing great in life. That is the victory for all of us.鈥
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AP journalist Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.
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