--- title: Pope Francis Tweeted His Support for the New Orleans Saints description: Thanks to a hashtag, the Pope tweeted his support of the football franchise. canonical: https://time.com/5699755/pope-francis-saints-tweet/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-14T15:02:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:00:50.090Z og:title: Pope Francis Tweeted His Support for the New Orleans Saints og:description: Sorry, Jacksonville Jaguars fans! og:url: https://time.com/5699755/pope-francis-saints-tweet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pope Francis Tweeted His Support for the New Orleans Saints twitter:description: Sorry, Jacksonville Jaguars fans! twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Divine Intervention? Pope Francis May Have Accidentally Blessed the New Orleans Saints With a Victory Thanks to This Accidental Tweet by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Oct 14, 2019 3:02 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Oct 14, 2019 3:02 PM UTC The New Orleans Saints may have had a little help from the Vatican in their win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Sunday, [Pope Francis](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567773/pope-francis-2/) tweeted a few words of prayer, but when he added a hashtag to the word “saints” he accidentally turned his words of faith into words of support for the NFL team, which Saints fans absolutely loved. It all started when the [Pope](http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/) tweeted giving thanks for “our new #Saints”, which the [_Sporting News_ reports](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/pope-francis-accidentally-tags-saints-in-a-tweet-twitter-has-a-field-day/1amuht70barnh1ongly4obmf7y) was most likely a reference to a group of actual saints that the Pope had recently canonized. (_The Catholic Herald_ has [more details on that](https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2019/10/13/pope-declares-john-henry-newman-a-saint/)). By affixing the hashtag to the word Saints, though, caused the fleur de lis symbol associated with the NFL team to pop up, alerting Saints and NFL fans to the Pope’s seeming support for the team. > [](https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1183329028326993921) Understandably, Saints’ fans had a field day with the divine intervention, responding to the Holy Father’s [tweet](https://time.com/85864/pope-francis-tweet-about-inequality-is-the-wake-up-call-we-all-need/) with all sorts of New Orleans booster phrases and thanks for the support. > [](https://twitter.com/nat%5Fstylo/status/1183367519878500353) > [](https://twitter.com/hacksawDG2/status/1183349165742575617) > [](https://twitter.com/bridgetgoirish/status/1183404470484557826) > [](https://twitter.com/TheRealCruzOx/status/1183389352170262529) > [](https://twitter.com/mrajcustard/status/1183391309920460800) > [](https://twitter.com/neontaster/status/1183407532057989120) Jacksonville Jaguar fans may have been torn between their faith in the team and their faith in the Pope: > [](https://twitter.com/AHester32/status/1183404453841395712) Soon, other sports fans jumped in hoping the Pope would consider blessing their team next, but the Pope has yet to respond to their pleas. > [](https://twitter.com/BritniB714/status/1183390349118627841) > [](https://twitter.com/RamstetterPhoto/status/1183747022853148672) > [](https://twitter.com/Luigi82/status/1183377603299811328) > [](https://twitter.com/Keithc01Keith/status/1183527867008847872) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5699755/pope-francis-saints-tweet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5699755/pope-francis-saints-tweet/"},"headline":"Divine Intervention? 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