Supernatural sign sent by Pope to his homeland

Pope Francis the First never returned to his native Argentina after becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church. But some of the local faithful believe he sent a final message home in a most unexpected but perhaps most fitting way, CNN reported.

Francis was a lifelong football fan, and sometimes goalkeeper for the youth team, and a regular player for his favorite club, San Lorenzo. And it was the number on that card that became a parable in Buenos Aires.

The excitement was caused by the number 88235 assigned to “regular member” Jorge Mario Bergoglio, which is the Pope's birth name.

And, as many noted, Francis was 88 years old when he died at 2:35 a.m. Argentine time on Easter Monday.

For many, it was another otherworldly, even divine, connection.