Italian football’s Serie A has announced the postponement of four matches originally scheduled for Easter Monday, following the Pope Francis’ Death. The Vatican confirmed the 88-year-old pontiff’s death on Monday morning, after he succumbed to complications following a recent hospital stay for an infection.
The affected matches, Torino vs. Udinese, Cagliari vs. Fiorentina, Genoa vs. Lazio, and Parma vs. Juventus, will now take place on Wednesday, 23 April, with all games kicking off at 17:30 BST.
Pope Francis, elected in 2013, was widely known for his love of football. The Argentine-born Pope was a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, an Argentine club who paid tribute to him, saying, “Our hearts ache. Pope Francis has left this world, but he will never leave our hearts.” The club, of which he was an honorary member, also highlighted his “passion” and “enormous generosity.”
Numerous Serie A clubs, including Roma, expressed their condolences. Roma’s statement described the Pope Francis’ Death as “a loss that deeply saddens our city and the entire world,” and praised his “faith, his humility, his courage and his dedication” which “touched the hearts of millions of people.” They recognized him as “a moral reference of our time.”
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