The shirt is, in fact, not just a whimsical item spotted by chance. To mark the visit of Leo XIV to France, the Holy Games collective has rallied the sporting world behind the events organised in Paris and at the Stade de France. Around 200 elite athletes are set to take part in the vigil on 25 September, recognisable precisely by this ‘Pope Leo 14 – FC Jesus’ jersey. Among the names announced are Wendie Renard, Egan Bernal, Mickaël Landreau and Paralympic champion Tanguy de La Forest.
The choice of the Stade de France is, of course, no coincidence. The venue where footballers and singers are usually cheered on will, for one evening, become the setting for a religious gathering aimed particularly at young people. Holy Games explicitly promises an atmosphere blending sport, music, entertainment and fervour centred on the Pope. The boundary between a religious event and a major popular spectacle is deliberately blurred.
And this is precisely where the shirt becomes interesting. ‘FC Jesus’ could almost pass for a joke. But it reflects a real shift in Catholic communication: no longer simply asking young people to conform to the Church’s conventions, but bringing the Church into their own. The number 14 even transforms the papal name into a player’s number: Leo XIV symbolically becomes ‘Leo 14’, a member of a team of which Jesus would be the club.
One might find this charming, clever, kitsch or frankly baffling. But the image works. It is immediately understandable, photogenic and shareable. At a time when all institutions are fighting for a few seconds’ attention on screens, Catholicism, too, is discovering the virtues of simple imagery and pop culture appropriation.
The contrast becomes even more striking when one looks at the programme for that same evening. The vigil at the Stade de France is also set to host the Holy Tunic kept in Argenteuil, a relic traditionally presented as the garment worn by Christ during his Passion, the authenticity of which remains disputed. In other words: within the same stadium, a relic stemming from nearly two millennia of Christian tradition will coexist alongside sportsmen wearing an ‘FC Jesus’ shirt.
This clash is perhaps far more revealing than it appears. The Church is not abandoning its oldest symbols; it is placing them at the heart of the most contemporary cultural codes. Relics, football, the Popemobile, music, social media and religious merchandise all feature in the same narrative.
And ultimately, this ‘Pope Leo 14’ printed as the name of a centre-forward says something about our times: even a two-thousand-year-old institution now knows that, before conveying a message, it must first capture people’s attention.
In this respect, FC Jesus has undoubtedly pulled off a media coup.
