08/19/2021 8:47 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 08/19/2021 8:54 AM
Confessed soccer fan.
And from San Lorenzo.
Pope Francis has received dozens of jerseys and soccer balls during his eight-year pontificate.
What's more, he has received all kinds of gifts: even a car.
But he had never received
a foosball
.
Until this Wednesday.
What's more, the Pope
played with his new foosball,
when he was given the game on Wednesday after the Wednesday general audience.
The foosball was introduced to him at the end of his hearing by representatives of a Tuscany-based foosball association, Sport Toscana Calcio Balilla in Altopascio.
The Pope plays with the foosball, after the general audience on Wednesdays.
Photo: AP
Enchanted by the Pope, he began to play with Natale Tonini, president of the Sport Toscana Calcio Balilla association.
A special foosball
Francisco played a game on this foosball that has a special feature: it was designed for people with physical disabilities.
Altopascio Mayor Sara D'Ambrosio wrote on Facebook that the table was designed to work well for people with physical disabilities
to encourage their participation in sport.
Enchanted by the Pope, he began to play with Natale Tonini, president of the Sport Toscana Calcio Balilla association.
Photo: AFP
The Pope is a well-known soccer lover and a fervent supporter of his beloved San Lorenzo.
The Pontiff has long promoted sport as a way to promote solidarity and inclusion, especially for young people.
Gifts
Each visit to the Pope is "settled" with a gift, often objects loaded with strong symbolism.
For example, in 2017 the National Council of Churches of Taiwan gifted Pope Francis with a special cross.
The gift has a story behind it.
It is made from the
remains of bombs dropped by China
on the Taiwanese island of Kinmen in the 1950s.
The cross symbolizes the ability to "turn hatred and violence into love and peace",
During his visit to the Vatican, President Alberto Fernández also exchanged gifts with the pontiff.
The head of state gave Francisco a bust of the Servant of God known as "Negro Manuel", a book about Buenos Aires cafes and a fabric made on an artisanal loom by young people from the civil association Granja Andar.
On the pontiff's side, red leather-bound editions of his writings as Pope and a special edition of his Message for the 2020 World Day of Peace were delivered to the Argentine president.
Associated Press
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