Bradley Weber / Flickr (Left), fifg / stock.adobe.com (Right)
CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis’ accidental misuse of the X hashtag “#Saints” in several of his social media posts has resulted in a hilarious online relationship between the Pope, the New Orleans Saints, and the NFL team’s fans.
People Magazine reported that Pope Francis — or whoever manages his X account — recently began using “#Saints” to encourage his online followers to imitate the examples of the holy men and women of the Church. But unbeknownst to him, the #Saints hashtag is actually placing the Holy Father’s X posts among content related to the New Orleans football team.
“The #Saints are precious pearls and are always living and relevant, because they provide a fascinating commentary on the Gospel,” Pope Francis posted on November 5. “Their lives are an illustration of the Good News that Jesus brought to humanity: God is our Father, who loves everyone with boundless love.”
The NFL team decided to run with the unexpected support, reposting the Pope’s message with the caption “Thank you for your prayers, Pontiff. We need them.”
People reported that the Saints have not been playing well this season, having won just two games so far.
The hilarious error occurred again just two days later, with Pope Francis posting: “We cannot become #Saints with a frown. We must have joyful hearts that remain open to hope.”
Comments on the pope’s post included NFL Saints memes and other quips, with one user commenting: “Given how the (NFL) #Saints are doing this year, I’m not so sure.”
The football team decided to repost the Pope’s message again, this time writing “Amen #Saints.”
“The pope, or his social media team, possibly haven’t noticed that the NFL Saints’ logo is showing up on his posts,” People reported, “or they simply don’t mind the extra eyes on his motivational messaging.”
