Fernando Romero Nuñez Argentine football club San Lorenzo dedicated a special farewell video for Pope Francis, who died on Monday. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Buenos Aires City neighborhood of Flores, home of the team’s stadium, Francis was a life-long fan of the club and one of its most famous supporters.
“He wasn’t just any fan, and he was always one of us,” reads the club’s post on X.
“A crow when he was a kid and when he was a man… a crow as a priest and as a cardinal… And a crow as the Pope,” they added.
San Lorenzo and its fans are nicknamed “crows” in honor of Lorenzo Massa, a priest who was instrumental in the founding of the club. In Argentina, ‘crows’ is also a slang word for priests, because of their black clothing.
“From Jorge Mario Bergoglio to Pope Francis, there was one thing that never changed: his love for [San Lorenzo],” read the statement. “With deep sorrow, today San Lorenzo says to Francis: Goodbye, thank you forever and ever! We will be together for eternity!”
Monday matches called off in Argentina
The Argentine Football Association announced on Monday that all football games in Argentina today will be postponed as a form of mourning for Pope Francis. These include three Liga Profesional games, which will be played on Tuesday.
The Liga Profesional published a farewell statement highlighting Francis’ love for the sport.
“Our Jorge Bergoglio, the footballing and @SanLorenzo Pope, will always be in our hearts. The family of the #LigaProfesional laments the passing of Francis, the Supreme Pontiff, and embraces the Catholic community,” read the message.
The football fan Pope
As many Argentines, Pope Francis was also a fervent football fan who exhibited his passion for the sport several times throughout his papacy.
In his autobiography, he recalled watching every game played by San Lorenzo’s title-winning 1946 team, and claimed to still remember its starting lineup by heart. He added that although he enjoyed playing, he wasn’t very skilled, and was mocked as a club-footed player (“pata dura” in Spanish), often made to play in goal.
He often welcomed football stars and players at the Vatican. In 2014, he greeted the San Lorenzo squad that won the 2014 Copa Libertadores, the biggest tournament in South American football.A witness to Argentina’s three World Cup wins (in 1978, 1986 and 2022), in 2023 Francis made one of his most controversial statements when he refused to pick a favorite between Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona, and instead praised Brazilian star Pelé.