The New Orleans Saints have turned to an unlikely source in an attempt to turn their season around.

Despite getting off to a promising 2-0 start during which they recorded over 40 points in back-to-back wins over the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, the Saints have struggled mightily since – suffering seven-straight losses and sinking to last place in the NFC South. New Orleans has already appeared to wave the white flag on the season, firing head coach Dennis Allen and trading away star cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the Washington Commanders this week.

Amidst the Saints’ active losing streak, New Orleans has received words of encouragement from none other than Pope Francis. Taking to social media, the head of the Catholic Church has accidentally included the team’s hashtag in multiple posts shared with his 18.5 million followers.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis shared an uplifting message that unintentionally included the Saints’ logo. “The #Saints are precious pearls and are always living and relevant, because they provide a fascinating commentary on the Gospel,” he said. “Their lives are an illustration of the Good News that Jesus brought to humanity: God is our Father, who loves everyone with boundless love.”

Droves of NFL fans poked fun at the slipup, joking that the Saints called upon Pope Francis in hopes of saving their season. “Losing to the Panthers was so bad that they had to call up the Pope,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “The Saints are in a bad spot. They need divine intervention for sure. They have no coach and no QB. Pray for the Saints.”

A third proposed: “Pope Francis for #Saints next head coach.”

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The unintended shoutout even caught the attention of the Saints’ social media team, which shared a photo of team owner Gayle Benson gifting Pope Francis a custom jersey during a visit to Rome. “Thank you for your prayers, Pontiff. We need them,” the post’s caption read.

This surprisingly isn’t the first time that Pope Francis has publicly blessed the Saints on social media. In October of 2019, he wrote on X, “Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints” several hours before New Orleans’ 13-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

One year later, the Saints reshared the tweet alongside the caption: “A year ago today, we woke up #blessed and highly favored by a tweet on our way to a victory that day.”

It remains to be seen if Pope Francis’ words of affirmation will help fix New Orleans’ woes on the gridiron. The Saints and interim head coach Darren Rizzi will look to achieve better results and make their way back into the win column when they face off against the Atlanta Falcons at home on Sunday.