Giovanni Gucciardi's family thinks the Patriots might have gotten a special blessing after he took a picture being blessed by Pope Francis in Vatican City with a Patriots hat in his hand.
Born in Italy, Gucciardi, 75, has been cutting hair since he moved to America in 1966 and has been cheering for the Patriots just as long. With thousands of people in attendance, he told NBC10 Boston he couldn’t believe he got the Pope’s attention.
"He came straight to me, with the other people, and then gave me his hand, then I grab it and I kiss the ring," Gucciardi said.
It’s a day Gucciardi said his family will never forget.
“Very happy," he said. "My wife had tears, you can see in the picture the tears because the emotion was great."
But it wasn’t until the Patriots win over the Jaguars that Giovanni’s nephew, Joe Ventimiglia, noticed his uncle holding the Patriots hat in his hand in the picture.
"I mean. I’m not going to sit here and say the Pope is why the Pats got to the Super Bowl, because in my opinion it isn’t, but if it did help them in some small way? Then great," Ventimiglia said.
New England Patriots
Giovanni told NBC10 Boston just as he wore the hat for the Patriots win over the Jaguars, he plans to wear it again on Super Bowl Sunday against the Eagles.
