BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – From flags to a life-size statue, images and homages to Pope Francis were visible all around the Pedro Bidegain stadium in Buenos Aires on Saturday as his beloved San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer team took to the field for the first time since the pontiff’s death.
Players wore jerseys with images of the late Pope along with the words “Together for Eternity,” as a remembrance for the passion Francis showed the team throughout his life, even remaining a member during his 12-year papacy.
“The Pope is from Boedo,” fans chanted before the kickoff, unfurling Vatican-colored yellow-and-white flags. The club, based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, plans to name its new stadium after Pope Francis.
During the halftime show, Scholas Occurrentes, an international organization created by the Pope in 2013 to transform global education, also paid tribute to the pope, who died on Monday at the age of 88.
Jorge Bergoglio inherited his passion for the popular Argentine club from his father and never lost it.
“And may San Lorenzo win,” Bergoglio said shortly after his election in 2013, as part of a series of wishes for his home country.
While he never returned to Argentina as pope, a life-size statue of Francis wearing a scarf with the team’s colors, blue and red, around his neck and overlooked the match against Rosario Central from the sidelines.
The match remained scoreless until the 91st minute when Enzo Copetti scored the lone goal for Rosario Central, handing the pope’s hometown team a 1-0 defeat.
During his years at the Vatican, Francis was named an honorary San Lorenzo member and received several visits from club delegations, including one after the club won the Copa Libertadores in 2014 and presented the trophy to the Catholic leader.
(Reporting by Ramiro Scandolo; Editing by Jorge Otaola, Alexander Villegas and David Gregorio)
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