"What joy," Maradona wrote to Italian daily Il Messaggero. "In my country the ´hand of God´ has now brought about an Argentine pope."[break]
Maradona, whose handball goal helped Argentina to beat England and pave the way to World Cup glory in 1986, described himself as a "fervent Catholic".
"Having a pope from our country is a great honour for all of Argentina," he wrote in the letter published Thursday.
Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first Latin American pontiff, defied expert predictions with his election Wednesday, becoming Pope Francis.
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