Flags and a life-size statue of Pope Francis adorned the Pedro Bidegain stadium in Buenos Aires on Saturday as his beloved San Lorenzo de Almagro football team played their first match since the pontiff’s passing.
Players wore jerseys featuring images of the late Pope along with the words “Together for Eternity,” honoring the Pope’s lifelong devotion to the team, which he remained a member of even during his 12-year papacy.
Before the match kicked off, fans chanted “The Pope is from Boedo” and waved yellow-and-white Vatican-colored flags. San Lorenzo, which is based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, has announced plans to name its new stadium in honor of Pope Francis.
During halftime, Scholas Occurrentes, the international organization founded by the Pope in 2013 to transform global education, also paid tribute to Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88.
Jorge Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis, inherited his love for the club from his father and remained a lifelong supporter. “And may San Lorenzo win,” he said after his election in 2013, expressing his wishes for his home country.
While he never returned to Argentina as Pope, a life-size statue of Francis, wearing a scarf in the team’s blue and red colors, stood at the sidelines of the match against Rosario Central.
The game remained goalless until the 91st minute when Enzo Copetti scored the only goal for Rosario Central, securing a 1-0 victory over the Pope’s hometown team.
During his time at the Vatican, Francis was named an honorary member of San Lorenzo and received multiple visits from the club’s delegations, including one in 2014 when they presented him with the Copa Libertadores trophy.
