Italy postpones all sporting events after death of Pope Francis

Following the death of Pope Francis, the top Italian soccer league is postponing four matches that were set to be played on Monday. The move came as the Italian National Olympic Committee suspended all sporting events.

Pope Francis, 88, died following recent health complications. He had chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.

He had been admitted to a hospital on Feb. 14 for a respiratory issue that later developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days hospitalized.

As for the sporting postponements, Serie A announced that all four of its games slated for Monday have been rescheduled to Wednesday. Those games were: Cagliari-Fiorentina, Genoa-Lazio, Parma-Juventus and Torino-Udinese.

Currently, Internazionale and Napoli lead Serie A on points, sporting 71. Atalanta is close behind on 64, though with the season only featuring a few games remaining, making up the ground will prove difficult.

Still, it figures to be a thrilling race to the finish. Now league play will be temporarily put on hold.

In addition to the top-level postponements, 10 matches in Serie B, 10 matches in Serie C and three matches in Primavera 1 were postponed. Makeup dates for those contests are still to be determined, according to a report from Front Office Sports.

More on Pope Francis

Pope Francis was the first Latin American pontiff in history. He was a native of Argentina, having been born in Buenos Aires.

He was ordained a priest in 1969. Later, he was named a cardinal by John Paul II in 2001. His ascension to become the pope was an extraordinary one.

Pope Francis became the first pope that was born or raised outside Europe since Gregory III in the 700s. He was also a Jesuit priest, the first from the order to become pope.