The "Fateful" Number In Pope Francis' Football Fan Card Causes A Stir.

The membership card number of the San Lorenzo club - the football team that Pope Francis supports - matches his age and time of death.

Pope Francis registered his membership card under his birth name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The number on the card, 88235, caused a stir when it coincided with his age of 88 when he died at 2:35 a.m. (Argentina time) on April 21. Many people consider this a supernatural connection.

Pope Francis' San Lorenzo club membership card. Photo: San Lorenzo

Ramiro Rodríguez, a San Lorenzo fan, shared: "It must be fate." He went to a small chapel, considered the spiritual cradle of the club, to attend a Mass in memory of Pope Francis.

In 2019, Rodríguez went to the Vatican wearing a San Lorenzo shirt. "I didn't meet him, but I know he was there with all his energy and healing the world, and that means a lot to me," he said.

The mass held at the San Lorenzo chapel ended as a spiritual celebration. Another memorial service was also held today, hours after Pope Francis was buried. The team will wear commemorative jerseys to honor the late Pope.

"Pope Francis has not returned to his native Argentina since becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church. But some believers here believe he sent a final message home, in an unexpected but perhaps most fitting way," CNN commented.

Ramiro Rodríguez (second from left) and San Lorenzo fans pay tribute to Pope Francis at the mass. Photo: Redux

Pope Francis is known for his love of football. He was an amateur goalkeeper in his youth. During his years in the Vatican, a Swiss guard would update Pope Francis on San Lorenzo's match results by leaving notes on his desk. The Pope said he has not watched television - except during traumatic events like 9/11 - since 1990.

Pope Francis said his love of sports was not just about competition but also about participation. He believed that sports, especially team games, help young people stay away from screens and virtual life, and teach them to engage with the outside world.

Argentina declared seven days of national mourning in memory of the Pope. Flowers and messages were left at his childhood home, the square where he played football with other children, and the church where he heard God's call to the priesthood. In Flores, the working-class neighborhood where Pope Francis lives and works, a woman left a note outside his childhood home: "You are one of us - an Argentine - and a gift to the world."

(According to CNN)