Pope Francis passed away this morning at 7:35 AM, as announced with sorrow by Cardinal Kevin Farrell. With his death, the world loses not only the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, but also a passionate advocate of sport \u2014 particularly basketball, a lesser-known yet meaningful part of his life.<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s Gazzetta dello Sport<\/em> was among the first to recall this unique relationship. On March 13, 2013 \u2014 the day Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope \u2014 the Twitter account of Argentine sports club San Lorenzo de Almagro<\/em> posted a photo of a clergyman holding the club\u2019s iconic red and blue banner. The caption celebrated \u201cthe first South American and Argentine Pope,\u201d proudly noting that Bergoglio held membership card No. 88,235.<\/p>\n In the stands of San Lorenzo\u2019s Nuevo Gas\u00f3metro<\/em> stadium, it\u2019s not unusual to find fans wearing masks with Pope Francis’ face \u2014 a tribute to a deep, enduring connection between faith and fandom.<\/p>\n But San Lorenzo is more than football. Bergoglio\u2019s father, Mario, once played for the club\u2019s basketball team. And the Pope himself had played basketball in his youth \u2014 even if he often said he was better with books than with balls. In football, he was a defender, though he modestly admitted, \u201cI was a pata dura\u201d<\/em> \u2014 an Argentine slang phrase meaning \u201cstiff-legged\u201d or \u201cclumsy.\u201d<\/p>\n Basketball, however, gave Pope Francis not just memories, but also metaphors. In one notable message to a group of priests, he borrowed language from the court to explain spiritual movement and purpose:<\/p>\n \u201cYou must know how to pivot \u2014 and that pivot is the Cross of Christ. Then, one moves, protecting the ball, hoping to score, and discerning who to pass it to.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n With the passing of Pope Francis, the sports world remembers a man who saw games not just as entertainment, but as expressions of teamwork, sacrifice, and shared hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pope Francis dies at 7:35 AM \u2013 remembering his love for sports, and a unique link to basketball<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":438888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_spbk_hide_featured":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[323],"tags":[],"rumors":[],"typology":[],"posizionamento":[],"class_list":["post-438889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n\n