Pope Francis Accidentally Blesses NFL Team Thanks to Automatic Emoji Function on X: 'They Need More Than What You Can Do'

The Pope's tweets about holy saints got mixed up with the New Orleans football team's hashtag twice this week, to a warm reception from the team's downtrodden fans who welcomed the encouragement.

Pope Francis has unwittingly become a source of hope for New Orleans Saints fans, despite the team's dismal season. Due to X (formerly Twitter) automatically adding the team's fleur-de-lis emoji to any post with the hashtag #Saints, the pope's recent tweets for All Saints Day seemed to rally support for the NFL team, though he was actually praising religious saints as "precious pearls."

The hashtag's emoji glitch has stirred Saints fans on social media. "They need more than what you can do, Pope Francis. They need to consult the big guy," one user joked.

Some fans, including @JonoBarnes, even quipped that the pope was happy to see Coach Dennis Allen fired after a string of losses.

Catholic Twitter influencer Rev. Matthew Schneider has long asked the Vatican to fix this emoji mix-up. "It was cute the first time, but it's becoming tiresome," he remarked.

For now, however, the pope's well-meaning tweets continue to be interpreted as blessings for the struggling NFL team.