The Pope's Soccer Team

The Pope’s Soccer Team

San Lorenzo de Almagro: Club with Salesian Roots

(ANS - Buenos Aires – April 2) – On April 1, the Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro celebrated its 111th birthday. Among its fans is none other than Pope Francis, holder of membership card number: 88235N-0.

San Lorenzo, as it’s more commonly called, was established in Buenos Aires, and precisely at the San Antonio festive oratory directed by the beloved Salesian priest Lorenzo Bartolomé Martin Massa.

The Salesian priest wanted to offer his boys a new recreational space. According to Fr. Massa himself, the colors of the team’s shirt were taken from an image of Mary Help of Christians which he kept in the oratory.

It all started with some youngsters from the Almagro neighborhood who had started to meet in the street to practice that new sport, soccer. They would play at the intersection of Mexico and Treinta y Tres Orientales in their neighborhood.

San Lorenzo played its first friendly matches on the soccer field of the San Antonio oratory, always on condition that its young players would participate in Sunday Mass.

Fr. Massa and one of his soccer teams

The club slowly grew, and Fr. Massa was sent to continue his work of evangelization with other assignments at other destinations. Yet, even so, Fr. Massa was always attentive to the club of his boys and those who continued to pass through his oratory.

Fr. Massa died in Buenos Aires on October 31, 1949. A few days later, Fr. Raul Entraigas, spiritual assistant of the San Lorenzo de Almagro club, wrote: “His love for the San Lorenzo de Almagro club was his life and his death, his joy and his drama. San Lorenzo was his spiritual son. Fr. Massa did not love it as a father, but as a mother. He rejoiced for its triumphs and suffered for its defeats.”

Today San Lorenzo de Almagro is one of the main Argentine clubs, and its activities have expanded, including, in addition to soccer, other sports, such as basketball, volleyball, and hockey. And among the many fans, it also boasts the Successor of Peter, Pope Francis.

Source: Salesianos Cooperadores Argentina

Read more about the Salesian influence on Pope Francis: https://sdbnews.blogspot.com/2016/08/what-jorge-bergoglio-learned-from.html