Pope Francis’ death prompts top Italian soccer league to postpone matches as tributes pour in

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The top soccer league in Italy has postponed its matches scheduled for Monday following the death of Pope Francis, who, at 88, recently fell ill and was hospitalized with double pneumonia.

Four Serie A matches were postponed to a later date, the Italian football league announced in a post on X. 

Pope Francis holds a gift of FC Bayern Muenchen during an private audience with the team in the Palace of the Vatican on Oct. 22, 2014. (Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

"Following the passing of His Holiness, Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A can confirm that today's league games in Serie A and Primavera 1 have been postponed," the post read. "The date of the rearranged fixtures will be announced in due course." 

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Matches between Torino and Udinese, Cagliari and Fiorentina, Genoa and Lazio, and Parma vs. Juventus were all impacted by the postponement. 

Pope Francis passed early Monday morning, just a day after he appeared in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in honor of the Easter celebration. From the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he performed a blessing on the thousands of people in attendance. 

His appearance on Sunday came weeks after he was hospitalized for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

Pope Francis is given a shirt from San Lorenzo, the Buenos Aires football team, as he greets the faithful before Easter Mass on March 31, 2013, in Vatican City. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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Tributes