Pope Francis opens World Children’s Day at the Olympic Stadium in Rome

The pontiff presided over the inauguration and the first celebration of World Children’s Day at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

Pope Francis made a special appearance at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, on Saturday, to symbolize the start of a football game as part of the celebrations of World Children’s Day, through World Children’s Day, an event organized by the Vatican.

Despite his 87 years and his previous health problems, Francisco got up from his chair next to the pitch when a child handed him the ball. Former Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was also present.

The Argentine pontiff is an avid football fan and lightly touched the ball before watching a brief game on the pitch. Rome’s Stadio Olimpico is the home ground of the city’s professional football clubs, AS Roma and Lazio.

Pope Francis: “I didn’t see Maradona’s ‘hand of God’”

In response to a question from a child, the Pope shared that he was very happy when Argentina won the World Cup in 2022. However, he did not like Diego Maradona’s famous handball goal in the 1986 World Cup.

Maradona commented at the time that the goal in the quarter-finals against England was scored “a little with Maradona’s head, a little with the hand of God”.

A day to celebrate and remember children, but what is Children’s Day, anyway?

Every day serves to celebrate children, which is perhaps why the date is marked at different times in different countries. In Portugal, and in around 90 other countries, World Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1st. Mozambique, Angola and Timor-Leste are also among the countries that chose the first day of June to celebrate the child.

In Brazil, the date is set on October 12th, while the UN recognizes the celebration on November 20th, the date on which France and the United Kingdom celebrate it.

In the USA, it is celebrated on the first Sunday of June (varying from state to state), and in Spain on the second Sunday of May, making the date even more variable.

Back in Italy, this first World Children’s Day organized by the Vatican is celebrated between May 25th and 26th, but World Children’s Day itself is marked in Italy on November 20th, as established in 1952. by the United Nations.

During this Day, Pope Francis greeted children from more than 100 countries, distributing sweets and encouraging those present in the stadium to shake hands in a gesture of peace. Around 50 thousand children were present at the Rome Olympics.

Before the event, the Pope also had an audience at the Vatican with children from regions affected by the war, including Palestinians and Ukrainians.

The supreme pontiff appealed for peace in his words to the children, who responded in unison to Pope Francis’ question about whether war was a beautiful thing.

This day was promoted by the Vatican with a communication from the Pope on his website aimed at children.

The World Children’s Day celebrations continue on Sunday with a special mass at the Vatican, followed by a reading by Italian actor Roberto Benigni.