Argentina: San Lorenzo Celebrates Pope Francis, its Most Sacred Fan · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

Argentine football has not been immune to the joy sparked by the appointment of Pope Francis; His Holiness Francis is a fan and an active member of football club San Lorenzo de Almagro [es], known in Argentina as the “crows” or the “cyclone.”
The club's nickname, “crows,” is not by accident. The website Goal.com [es] explains the reason for the name [es]:
Definitivamente el apodo no es casual. Cuervos, uno de los modos de referirse a San Lorenzo de Almagro, no viene del ave sino de la manera popular de referirse a los sacerdotes de la Iglesia Católica, cubiertos totalmente con las sotanas negras. También por eso, aunque está en desuso, al club porteño se lo conoce como “Los Santos”.
When news broke that Jorge Mario Bergoglio had been elected as the new Pope of the Catholic Church, San Lorenzo's (@SanLorenzo) [es] official Twitter account wrote:
@SanLorenzo: Es un orgullo para la Institución saber que el primer Papa sudamericano es Socio de #SanLorenzo.
The institution also sent Pope Francis a letter of congratulation [es].
Furthermore, during a match played on March 16, where San Lorenzo de Almagro faced Colon de Santa Fe [es], San Lorenzo players wore a shirt commemorating Pope Francis.
Before the game against Colón de Santa Fe, the Twitter account El Papa es Cuervo (@ivannacasla, the Pope is a crow) [es] wrote:
Image from official Twitter account @SanLorenzo[es]
@Ivannacasla: A ver el partido a lo de cris, vamos san lorenzo, dios y el papa nos ayudan!
On the other hand, Anto Gaitan (@Ggaitan_anto) [es], fan of Boca Juniors [es], pointed to the few tournaments won by San Lorenzo. She also referred to the common practice of drawing a star on the shield of football shirts for each cup the team has won:
@Ggaitan_Anto: A falta de estrellas en el escudo. #SanLorenzo salio con la inscripicion d #PapaFrancisco en la camiseta jaja @ArgEsDeBoca @HinchasXeneizes
San Lorenzo won the match against Colón de Santa Fe by 1 to 0 and with one player less. The club's fans, like @Mrrjoness [es], shared their happiness:
@Mrrjoness: @enunabaldosa gol del ciclón, Bergoglio se prende otra fumata para festejar.
And Ale Tati (@aletati2007) [es] wrote:
@aletati2007:#vamos ciclón!! esta si fue nuestra semana SANTA!!!!
@aletati2007:#vamos [es] (come on) cyclone!! this really has being our HOLY week!!!!
Hector Pappa (@hectorPappa) [es] tweeted that there's a party at the Vatican, and Felipe CQ (@FelCul) [es] said that Pope Francis scored the only goal at the game. According to Diego Mendoza (@diegol_77) [es], San Lorenzo's victory is Pope Francis’ first miracle.