The story of Club Papa Francisco: from Argentina to the Vatican

Pope Francis, the highest authority of the Catholic Church and one of the most prominent figures in Argentine history, passed away this Monday at the age of 88. "With deep sorrow, I have to announce that Pope Francis has died at 7:35 a.m. today. The Bishop of Rome has returned to the Father's house," was the statement from Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

During his pontificate, he received multiple tributes, but one of the most curious and significant is related to soccer. In October 2013, just seven months after his election as Pope, a club was born in San Francisco Solano with his name: the Club Social y Deportivo Papa Francisco.

A club with values inspired by Francis

The club was founded with the aim of promoting sports and its values in the most deprived sectors. "The central idea of the club is to keep kids away from drugs, get them off the streets, and allow them to fulfill the dream of playing in the First Division, even if it's in this club," stated Ricardo Montero, the institution's sports director, in an interview with Interior Futbolero at that time.

"We are a somewhat atypical club, where we try to instill in players values that today have been lost and that Francis proposes to the world, and we try to carry it out on and off the field," he added. In relation to this, the club's motto is "no nonsense, no violence, and no insults," promoting a healthy environment in the realm of sports.

On April 12, 2014, they played their first official match in the Lujanense League against Trefules, one of the many regional leagues that form the path to the Torneo Regional Amateur, equivalent to the fourth division for teams not directly affiliated with AFA. "Many people from all over the world want to join," Montero stated at the time, excited about the impact.

A few months later, a delegation from the club, wearing papal colors, traveled to the Vatican to meet with Bergoglio. There, they presented him with a personalized jersey with the number 10 and his name. "Francis told us to keep going, that the idea was great, and that he supported us in what we did in this project," Montero recounted in statements to the now-defunct Télam.

A dream paused, but not finished

The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic put the club's development on hold. Economic difficulties and the loss of sponsors forced the suspension of sports activities, including soccer and volleyball.

"It became impossible for us to maintain the teachers, the facilities, and even the league fees. For that reason, we decided to stop competing for a while until the situation could normalize," Montero explained.

Currently, the club continues to operate thanks to the practice of taekwondo, although they do not rule out returning to official competition in the future. "The dream of returning to high-performance competition and having our own training place is still alive," concluded the leader, keeping alive the hope of resuming the project that was born with papal inspiration.