Harlem Globetrotters Teach Pope Francis Some Tricks In The Vatican [Photos]

The Harlem Globetrotters are a worldwide phenomenon. This couldn’t have been envisioned any more than their recent appearance in the Vatican where they showed Pope Francis how to swag it out with a basketball.

Reports BBC:

The Harlem Globetrotters have a new star: none other than Pope Francis himself.

The basketball team arrived in the Vatican on Wednesday as part of a tour of Italy.

The Pope was presented with a framed Globetrotters shirt adorned with the name Pope Francis, and the number 90 on the back.

He also took time out from his weekly general audience to be taught a few basketball skills.

The Globetrotters, a basketball exhibition team, were founded in 1926, and were one of the first to feature African-American players at a time of segregation in the United States.

While visiting Pope Francis, they did not, however, go as far as they did when they were last at the Vatican – when they made Pope John Paul II an honorary member of the team.

The significance of the number 90 on Pope Francis’ honorary shirt was not immediately clear – although his most recent approval rating among US Catholics was at 90%.

Scroll through the gallery below to see pictures of the joyous occasion. God bless the holy hardwood.

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Photo: AP