Pope Francis hosted the German national team in a private audience on Monday morning. The meeting at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, at which all twenty players in the squad for the match against Italy on Tuesday, Joachim Löw and his coaching staff, as well as DFB President and head of the delegation Reinhard Grindel were present, began at 09:00 CET on Monday morning.
“I am delighted to be hosting the current world champions,” said the Pope in his speech, which was translated from Italian to German. “Victories in football are always down to a team effort. You pride yourselves on this belief. Victories in elite sports don’t only depend on a huge amount of discipline, but also responsibility and a mutual respect. That is what makes you successful.”
Pope Francis receives DFB shirt
The DFB president thanked the leader of the Catholic Church in a speech. Reinhard Grindel said, “Holy Father, this is a huge honour for us and we would like to pass on our heartfelt thanks for this occasion. Our team stands for diversity. We see diversity as a strength, based on tolerance and respect.”
The national team presented football enthusiast Pope Francis, an honourable member of the Argentinean first division side San Lorenzo de Almagro and 2. Bundesliga team 1860 München, a signed shirt by all the players. The words “football unites us” were written underneath the signed shirt.
Boys and girls from Manuel Neuer’s children and youth homes “MANUS” in Gelsenkirchen put together a painting highlighting the worldwide, unifying significance of football as well as a symbolic emphasis on the cultural diversity within the Germany team. This painting was also presented to the Holy Father by Oliver Bierhoff as well as world champions Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller. The group of players that presented the gift to the Pope also included Benedikt Höwedes, Mario Gomez and Ilkay Gündogan.
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Pope Francis hosted the German national team in a private audience on Monday morning. The meeting at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, at which all twenty players in the squad for the match against Italy on Tuesday, Joachim Löw and his coaching staff, as well as DFB President and head of the delegation Reinhard Grindel were present, began at 09:00 CET on Monday morning.
“I am delighted to be hosting the current world champions,” said the Pope in his speech, which was translated from Italian to German. “Victories in football are always down to a team effort. You pride yourselves on this belief. Victories in elite sports don’t only depend on a huge amount of discipline, but also responsibility and a mutual respect. That is what makes you successful.”
Pope Francis receives DFB shirt
The DFB president thanked the leader of the Catholic Church in a speech. Reinhard Grindel said, “Holy Father, this is a huge honour for us and we would like to pass on our heartfelt thanks for this occasion. Our team stands for diversity. We see diversity as a strength, based on tolerance and respect.”
The national team presented football enthusiast Pope Francis, an honourable member of the Argentinean first division side San Lorenzo de Almagro and 2. Bundesliga team 1860 München, a signed shirt by all the players. The words “football unites us” were written underneath the signed shirt.
Boys and girls from Manuel Neuer’s children and youth homes “MANUS” in Gelsenkirchen put together a painting highlighting the worldwide, unifying significance of football as well as a symbolic emphasis on the cultural diversity within the Germany team. This painting was also presented to the Holy Father by Oliver Bierhoff as well as world champions Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller. The group of players that presented the gift to the Pope also included Benedikt Höwedes, Mario Gomez and Ilkay Gündogan.
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Grindel: “Football provides tremendous strength”
The DFB President went on to say, “Football creates tremendous strength and popularity, particularly in terms of integration. Many people worldwide connect with each other through football. We have experienced that in Germany, where refugees from across the world have found a home in a football club.”
Grindel described the social campaigns to Pope Francis, which the DFB and the team organise when the major tournaments come around. These include aid in Mexico since 1986 and the promotion of children’s projects during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Rose wreath and medals
The audience on Monday morning included Annette Schavan and Monsignor Oliver Lahl. Schavan has been the Germany ambassador of the Holy See since 2014, while Lahl is Pope Francis’ spiritual consultant. The players, coaches, members of staff and members of the DFB delegation received a consecrated wreath of roses and a medal.
Concluding the half-hour audience, Pope Francis declared, “I wish you all the best in your sporting and social activities. Please pray for me. I would like to sincerely bless you and your families.”
The team then flew directly afterwards to Milan, where they take on Italy in their final international match of the calendar year.
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