On Sunday, Messi received the jersey signed by Pope Francis from Monsignor Emmanuel Gobilliard, auxiliary bishop of Lyon and delegate to the Holy See for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the statement said.
“A man of faith, Messi confirmed to me how important this step was for him. we pray together“Monsignor Gobilliard wrote on social networks along with a photo of the former FC Barcelona player holding a shirt in his hands and another with the Brazilian Neymar.
“The exchange of shirts between the Pope and the Argentine star has been completed“, adds Athletica Vaticana.
In October, French Prime Minister Jean Castex presented Pope Francis with Messi’s dedicated shirt, silk-screened with number 30, in the colors of Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentine pontiff, – since his childhood a fan of the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires – had expressed his gratitude and had congratulated him for his “simplicity”.
Messi and Jorge Bergoglio, elected Pope in March 2013, had met in August of that year at the Vatican.