'Soccer-mad' Pope Francis is thrilled to meet the Bayern Munich team

'Soccer-mad' Pope Francis is thrilled to meet the Bayern Munich team

During a private meeting with members of the FC Bayern Munich sports club on Wednesday, Pope Francis told the soccer players that they "played a wonderful game."

Bayern Munich beat Roma 7-1 in Italy on Tuesday night. The team gave Pope Francis a signed soccer ball and jersey — complete with "Francis" across the back. For Pope Francis, a noted "soccer-mad" sports fan (at least according to The Associated Press), the moment was quite a special one, as seen in his expression in the below photos.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Iframe Code

#457642820 / gettyimages.com

Iframe Code

#457642312 / gettyimages.com

Iframe Code

#457642744 / gettyimages.com

Explore More

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.