Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 7, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe England Cricket Board apologized for a social media post suggesting Pope Francis is an Ashes fan. The post was deleted, and an apology was issued.
(Reuters) - The England and Wales Cricket Board has apologised after its social media staff reposted a message from the account of Pope Francis and suggested the pontiff, who is in hospital being treated for double pneumonia, was a fan of the Ashes series.
The post on the X account of Pope Francis was sent out on Tuesday ahead of Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent when the foreheads of Roman Catholics are marked with the ashes of burnt palm leaves.
"The #Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good," the message started.
England Cricket's account reposted it along with the message, "Even @Pontifex loves the Ashes", a reference to the Ashes rivalry between the England and Australia cricket teams.
"This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted," an ECB spokesman said. "We apologise for any offence."
Pope Francis, an Argentine soccer fan, on Thursday sent his first audio message since being taken to hospital nearly three weeks ago, expressing thanks to well-wishers from around the world who had offered him their support.
The next edition of the Ashes cricket series, which gets its name from a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper after Australia first won a test in England in 1882, takes place later this year.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
The England and Wales Cricket Board apologized for reposting a message from Pope Francis that was deemed ill-judged and potentially offensive.
The reposted message from Pope Francis mentioned that the Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good, and was accompanied by a reference to the Ashes rivalry.
The Ashes series is named after a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper in 1882, marking the first time Australia won a test match in England.
Pope Francis was in the hospital at the time the message was reposted, having been hospitalized for nearly three weeks.
The ECB quickly deleted the post and issued an apology for any offense it may have caused, indicating that it was not well-received.
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