DorSteffen/iStock(ROME) — Pope Francis set the world of football abuzz Sunday by unexpectedly throwing his weight behind the New Orleans Saints.
Except, the octogenarian pontiff didn’t mean to support the NFL team but the newly canonized saints of the Catholic Church.
“Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints,” he posted, using the team’s hashtag by mistake.
“They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession,” he added.
Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints. They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) October 13, 2019
Twitter followers quipped the pope meant to say he invoked the Saints’ “interception.”
But even if intended for different types of saints, New Orleans players and supporters took it as a good omen. And indeed, despite playing without star quarterback Drew Brees, the Saints had little trouble beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6.
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