Pope Francis blesses UEFA officials ahead of Euro 2020

Pope Francis has met with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and other soccer officials to offer his blessings before the European Championship kicks off in Rome

Italy Euro 2020 Soccer (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Pope Francis met with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and other soccer officials on Thursday to offer his blessings before the European Championship kicks off in Rome

Euro 2020, which was postponed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, starts Friday with Italy playing Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico

The Argentine-born Francis is an avid soccer fan and a noted supporter of Buenos Aires team San Lorenzo.

Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina also took part in the meeting inside the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.

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