Pope Francis died at the age of 88 on Monday morning.
The first Latin pope had a connection to the New Orleans Saints through the team's owner and his occasional, but clearly accidental, mentioning the team on social media.
On multiple occasions, Francis used the Saints hashtag, which automatically brings up the teams' fleur-de-lis logo.
The most recent instance was after All Saints Day on Nov. 1.
"The #Saints are precious pearls and are always living and relevant, because they provide a fascinating commentary on the Gospel," the Pope's account posted on Nov. 5 on X, formerly known as Twitter. "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 Nov. 5 post came a day after the Saints fired former head coach Dennis Allen.
The Pope followed up the posts' popular performance with another use of the Saints' team hashtag on Nov. 7.
Last April, Saints team owner Gayle Benson presented the Pope with a team jersey. The photographed exchange was used in the team's dedicated post to the late religious figure.
"Our sincere prayers and thoughts on the passing of Pope Francis," the Saints social accounts posted on Monday morning.
