Tag: Pope Francis

Gayle Benson presents Pope Francis with personalized Saints jersey

New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson presented Pope Francis with a personalized Saints jersey while visiting Rome:

There aren’t many New Orleans Saints jerseys to be found in Vatican City, and one of the few you’ll see there is personalized for the Pope himself. Saints owner Gayle Benson received a personal audience with Pope Francis this week, in which she gifted him a custom No. 1 jersey emblazoned with “Papa Francesco,” as seen a photo shared by WDSU’s Fletcher Mackel.

Mackel reports that this was just one stop on Benson’s 10-day trip in Europe. She also petitioned the Papal Foundation and other business and tourism groups for investments in New Orleans and renovations to the iconic St. Louis Cathedral. She’ll visit Italy and Germany as part of this tour before returning to Louisiana.

Benson has deep ties to the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese in New Orleans; it’s where she met her late husband Tom Benson, and she maintains a close friendship with Archbishop Gregory Aymond. But that relationship has drawn scrutiny between Benson donating tens of millions of dollars to the archdiocese and the involvement of Saints executives in assisting the church with damage control during its clergy abuse crisis.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Pope Francis accidentally uses the Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo — again

Pope Francis accidentally used the New Orleans Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo on Twitter — again

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

The New Orleans Saints may be locked in a copyright infringement lawsuit with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but odds are they won’t be taking Pope Francis to court. On Saturday, the supreme pontiff’s Twitter account shared a message reflecting on the lives of the saints — using a hashtag to further spread the call.

Coincidentally, the NFL has attached the Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo to that same hashtag, meaning the black and gold were just broadcast to the Pope’s 18.7 million followers on Twitter as well as those of the Catholic faith worldwide, who number more than 1.3 billion. Customized hashtags are used by the NFL for every team, but the league’s marketing department has been phoning it in for New Orleans by declining a popular slogan in favor of the team’s name.

And this isn’t the first time this has happened. The Pope accidentally supported the team back in 2019 just hours before the Saints kicked off with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it turned out to be a good omen — New Orleans left town with a 13-6 win under backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, thrust into the starting role after a season-threatening injury to Drew Brees’ throwing hand.

We may be in the middle of the offseason, but when you’re coming off of a miserable 7-win campaign in 2022 like the Saints you’ll take all the help you can get. An inadvertent endorsement from the Holy See might be worth something.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Captains Zach Johnson, Luke Donald meet Pope Francis at the Vatican, give him a replica Ryder Cup

“It was a very memorable experience and the honor wasn’t lost on us,” said Johnson.

Being a Ryder Cup captain has its perks and benefits, especially when Italy is the host nation of the biennial bash.

As the Americans and Europeans prepare to square off at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, September 29 – October 1, 2023, U.S. captain Zach Johnson and European captain Luke Donald took part in the Ryder Cup Year to Go Celebrations that included a visit to the Colosseum, hitting shots at the Temple of Venus and Roma, a gala dinner at the exclusive Palazzo Colonna, and oh yeah, they met the pope.

“It was a very memorable experience and the honor wasn’t lost on us,” said Johnson. “Clearly today was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Pope Francis was beyond gracious, warm and welcoming. (Wife Kim) and I will never forget our Vatican morning.”

Donald and Johnson held a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican and gifted him an inscribed replica Ryder Cup: “Presented to His Holiness The Pope By Ryder Cup Captains Luke Donald and Zach Johnson.” Among countless world-famous paintings and sculptures, the captains’ names will live on forever on the cup in the Vatican.

“As Ryder Cup Captain I am fortunate to be able to do many special things, but having a private audience with Pope Francis was certainly a memory that myself and (wife Diane) will always cherish,” added Donald.

The U.S. currently holds the Ryder Cup after its dominant 19-9 win at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2021. Italy will host for the first time next fall when the Americans will look to win for the first time on foreign soil since 1993 at The Belfry.

[vertical-gallery id=778300639]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The champion and the Pope: Deontay Wilder visits Francis

Deontay Wilder, a man in a violent profession, dropped by the Vatican Friday for a private audience with Pope Francis, a man of peace. A fighter meeting the Pope is a little bit like a conscientious objector meeting General George Patton. Let’s just …

Deontay Wilder, a man in a violent profession, dropped by the Vatican Friday for a private audience with Pope Francis, a man of peace.

A fighter meeting the Pope is a little bit like a conscientious objector meeting General George Patton. Let’s just say they are in very different businesses.

In an Instagram post, there’s a photo of His Holiness shaking Wilder’s lethal right hand.

No word on whether Wilder asked him to bless the hand and his chances in a rematch with Tyson Fury on Feb. 22. But he did sign a pair of gloves for Wilder, according to a TMZ report.

“What a honor it was to meet [Pope Francis] today,” Wilder wrote in his caption. “He’s truly a remarkable man that represents True Love, Happiness and World Peace for all human race.”

The Pope went on to name Wilder the Boxers’ Representative and Ambassador for Peace through Sport, according to a release from Premier Boxing Champions.

“This was an incredible honor and I’m very happy to have met with Pope Francis,’’ Wilder said in the release. “I want to thank him for meeting with me. I also want to thank the World Boxing Council for arranging the visit and thank the Italian Boxing Federation for hosting me as I visited with the people of Italy. It has been one of the best experiences of my life. It proves that I plan on being a true heavyweight champion of the world.’’

Peace isn’t exactly what Wilder has in mind for Fury. Then again, the Vatican wasn’t Wilder’s only stop in Rome. He also planned to visit the Colosseum, an ancient site sure to remind him of who he really is and what he really intends to do to Fury.