Pope Francis to support Brazil in the FIFA World Cup 2014?

Pope Francis exchanges gifts with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff during their audience at the Vatican City on

A pontiff is not only considered to be the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, but also a Shepard to his folks (believers), a father to his children and a guru to his disciple. So, when a Pope talks about issues apart from religion during his sermon, the attention, which it grabs is undoubtedly enormous.

Pope Francis, given his South American roots and his temptation of an unusual sort, was again yesterday the cynosure of the eye when he said that he would support Brazil during the FIFA World Cup, which is all set to kick-off in the coming months. This was after the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff gave him a national team jersey signed by football great Pele and a ball signed by Ronaldo during an audience.

Pope Francis joked that with such gifts, he might be encouraged to support Brazil over his native Argentina at the footballing carnival, which will return to the Samba nation after 54 years. Brazil had last hosted the World Cup in 1950, which saw Uruguay win the title for the second time after defeating the Samba boys in the finals.

Pope Francis, a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo, has amassed an enormous collection of jerseys since his election. Pele signed the newest addition, No. 10: “To Pope Francis with respect and admiration,” while Ronaldo signed the ball “to Pope Francis, a big hug from your friend Ronaldo.” Rousseff was in town to see Rio’s archbishop being elevated to the position of a cardinal and also to formally invite Pope Francis to the World Cup in June.

— With inputs from AP