{"id":39455,"date":"2025-05-11T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=39455"},"modified":"2025-05-12T06:57:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T06:57:13","slug":"from-pulpit-to-pitch-pope-francis-used-sport-to-get-his-message-to-a-wider-world-%e2%88%92-that-could-continue-with-baseball-loving-leo-xiv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/from-pulpit-to-pitch-pope-francis-used-sport-to-get-his-message-to-a-wider-world-%e2%88%92-that-could-continue-with-baseball-loving-leo-xiv\/","title":{"rendered":"From pulpit to pitch: Pope Francis used sport to get his message to a wider world \u2212 that could continue with baseball-loving Leo XIV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Carmen M. Nanko-Fern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, Catholic Theological Union<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world of sport is \u201ca constellation of many stars,\u201d Pope Francis told La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian daily sports newspaper, during a wide-ranging interview<\/a> in January 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 21, 2025, that world lost, if not one of its brightest stars, then certainly one of its highest-placed advocates in Francis<\/a>. In his youth, Francis was only ever a street athlete, but he was an avid and lifelong sports fan, especially when it came to soccer. In fact, Francis incorporated his love of the beautiful game into his outlook as pope \u2013 for him, sport was a way to communicate with people from all backgrounds and all corners of the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Leo XIV now installed as Francis\u2019 successor, that sporting theme could continue in the Vatican, though the center of gravity may migrate from soccer to baseball. As befitting a U.S. pope, Leo is known to be a fan of the national pastime, in particular his native Chicago White Sox<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always \u2018un cuervo!\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Long before the papacy, even before his first steps toward priesthood, for Jorge Mario Bergoglio \u2013 the boy who would go on to become Pope Francis \u2013 there was his hometown sports club<\/a>, Buenos Aires\u2019 San Lorenzo de Almagro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was \u201cpart of my cultural identity,\u201d Francis later said, so much so that he maintained his club membership<\/a> throughout his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That became news upon his death, when a photo of his club card went viral. Argentine sports fans noted that his membership card number<\/a>, 88235, coincided<\/a> with his age, 88, and the moment of his death in Argentina time: 2:35 AM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis\u2019 relationship with San Lorenzo de Almagro<\/a> was marked by mutual affection. The team memorialized him in various ways<\/a>. They noted how he continues to accompany them by emblazoning on their jerseys his image and the words \u201cjuntos por la eternidad\u201d or \u201ctogether forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a touching video tribute<\/a> posted on social media following Francis\u2019 death, the club affirmed his belonging, from his childhood through his papacy, as \u201cun cuervo\u201d \u2013 or \u201ccrow,\u201d a nod to the nickname for the team and its fans rooted in the club\u2019s founding by a Catholic priest. In Lunfardo, a dialect in Buenos Aires, \u201ccuervo\u201d is also slang for priest. For his team, \u201cPapa Cuervo\u201d was \u201cnever just one more fan, he was always one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sporting world pays tribute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And it wasn\u2019t just his home team that mourned Francis\u2019 death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the day of his passing, moments of silence preceded play from Citi Field<\/a>, the home of Major League Baseball\u2019s New York Mets, to Estadi Ol\u00edmpic Llu\u00eds Companys<\/a>, the temporary soccer venue of Spanish soccer giant Barcelona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Italy, soccer matches were rescheduled to honor the national period of mourning, and players and coaches from AS Roma<\/a> filed into St. Peter\u2019s Basilica to pay their respects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Pope Francis holds a tennis racket presented to him by the Italian Tennis Federation in 2015. AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Across social media platforms, the sporting world responded to the loss of one they considered their own. Spanish tennis champ Rafael Nadal<\/a> tweeted his condolences and observed that the day was indeed \u201cun d\u00eda triste,\u201d or \u201csad day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL\u2019s New Orleans Saints<\/a> expressed condolences and commemorated their relationship with the pope, a connection born of a digital anomaly. Each time Francis posted #Saints on his X \u2013 formerly Twitter \u2013 account, it automatically tagged the NFL team, which did not mind the accidental blessings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When global attention turned to speculating about the next pope, the soccer world continued to mourn and honor their star. From April 29 to May 1, each Champions League semifinal match \u2013 youth, women\u2019s and men\u2019s alike<\/a> \u2013 was preceded by a moment of silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the words of world soccer body UEFA\u2019s president<\/a> Aleksander \u010ceferin: \u201cPope Francis was a beacon of hope for\u2026 (a) humanity that will now remain orphaned of that voice \u2013 tireless and powerful \u2013 that always rose in defense of the poor, the humble, and the vulnerable to call for respect, acceptance, and equality and to implore a peace that always seemed distant \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Pope Francis is given a San Lorenzo\u2019s shirt as he greets the faithful prior to his first \u2018Urbi et Orbi\u2019 blessing from the balcony of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica during Easter Mass on March 31, 2013. Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sport as language of life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Francis, sport was more than a game or a pastime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a vernacular, and soccer was his dialect. He was fluent and it showed. He recognized in sport the potential to communicate in what he called a universal language<\/a> that \u201cextends across borders, language, race, religion and ideology; it possesses the capacity to unite people, together, by fostering dialogue and acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The online archive of his pontificate contains well over 60 sport-related audiences, messages and letters, including video greetings on occasions such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup<\/a> and Super Bowl LI in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The significance of sport as a distinctive body of his papal teaching<\/a> is also indicated by the Spanish release in 2024 of \u201cM\u00e1s All\u00e1 De Los L\u00edmites: El Deporte Seg\u00fan El Papa Francisco<\/a>,\u201d or \u201cBeyond the Limits: Sports According to Pope Francis.\u201d The book came with a forward by Carlo Ancelotti, the storied manager of a litany of soccer greats, including Real Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sport emerged early as one of Jorge Bergoglio\u2019s native tongues, bound intimately to memory, family, identity and belonging \u2013 threads also evident in his canon of teachings on sport. In \u201cHope<\/a>,\u201d his 2024 autobiography, Francis dedicates a chapter to sport and weaves stories of his beloved soccer throughout the book in a manner that reveals how \u201cthe experience of the people and their passions<\/a>\u201d became for him a source and site for his theology of encounter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A commitment to inclusivity is a constitutive element in his teaching on both sport and encounter. Among those who paid tribute on Francis\u2019 passing were the organizers of the Paralympic Games<\/a>, who posted: \u201cToday humanity lost a great man \u2026 passionate about sport and passionate about inclusion, which epitomizes everything the Paralympic Movement stands for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Getting in the game\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Francis urged<\/a>, \u201c\u2018Get in the game\u2019 not only in sports \u2026 but also in life, in the search for the good, without fear but with courage and enthusiasm. Get in the game with others and with God \u2026 Place your talents at the service of the encounter among people, of friendship and of inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Pope Francis salutes the cricket team of the Vatican. AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He put this into practice with the launch and sponsorship in 2019 of Athletica Vaticana<\/a>, a dedicated sports body for the city-state. He also gave his blessing and backing to St. Peter\u2019s Cricket Club<\/a>, the first-ever Vatican women\u2019s soccer team<\/a>, and Sport at the Service of Humanity<\/a>, a collaborative global movement that seeks to \u201cleverage the power of Faith and Sport as a platform for good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet in the game\u201d was a call intended not only for athletes \u2013 amateur, collegiate, Special Olympian, professional \u2013 but for street-ballers, schoolyard players, fans and gamers of all kinds. In sports and play, Francis found the potential for a \u201cschool of peace<\/a>\u201d because they provided opportunities<\/a> \u201cto go outside of our own walls and learn how to participate, to overcome, to struggle together,\u201d charting ways forward for church and society \u201cto overcome all forms of discrimination and exclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis never forgot the joys or even the sorrows of sports as a player or as a fan. \u201cPlaying is a right,\u201d he wrote in his memoir<\/a>, \u201cand there\u2019s also the hallowed right not to be a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind every ball, he saw a kid with a dream and aspirations, and he recognized himself on the soccer field \u2013 a \u201cpata dura,\u201d the kid with two left feet, \u201csleeves rolled up, and often with grazed knees.\u201d On the sports field, like elsewhere, he recognized and took delight in the beauty of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The link between the papacy and the sporting world looks set to continue under Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media quickly noted<\/a> that soccer aficionado Francis had been succeeded by an amateur tennis player and fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new pope\u2019s brother had to resolve an online dispute by affirming Leo is a fan of the South Side\u2019s Chicago White Sox and not the North Side\u2019s Cubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, the city\u2019s two baseball franchises responded with dueling stadium signs claiming the pope as their own. Meanwhile, ESPN reported<\/a> that NBA teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, former Villanova Wildcats-turned-New York Knicks chatted about a possible alumni reunion with the newest rising star in the constellation of sports: Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carmen M. Nanko-Fern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry, Catholic Theological Union<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carmen M. Nanko-Fern\u00e1ndez, Catholic Theological Union The world of sport is \u201ca constellation of many stars,\u201d Pope Francis told La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian daily sports newspaper, during a wide-ranging interview in January 2021. On April 21, 2025, that world lost, if not one of its brightest stars, then certainly one of its highest-placed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":39456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[279,7,10,36,2450,15533,38],"tags":[3537,179,2620,202,16293,885,891,886,860,5649,1979,16384,155,5084,3655],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39457,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39455\/revisions\/39457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}