Did We Observe a Synchronicity in the Coincidence of Pope Francis’s Death?

April 27, 2025 - Reading time: 5 minutes

Recently, we witnessed a strange coincidence: Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 at 2:35 a.m. (Argentina time) on April 21, 2025. Interestingly, the symbolic sum of the numbers "88 + 2 + 35" coincides with the membership card number 88235 from his favorite soccer team, San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina) [1]. This might represent a synchronicity event, but it requires a careful calculation to assess the probability that such a coincidence could occur purely by chance.

We remind that noticing coincidences in people's lives is not unusual. It can often be explained by the law of large numbers: given the vast number of people and events happening all the time, it is statistically normal for coincidences to occur. However, coincidences become intriguing when they occur within a small, carefully selected group of people chosen independently of any search for coincidences - especially when these individuals are connected through meaningful relationships.

The book [2] argues that one can build an unbiased statistical sample of such a group, and that simple statistical inference applied to it can reveal just how unlikely certain events are. This line of reasoning goes far beyond the work of psychologist Carl G. Jung (1875-1961), who illustrated the concept of "synchronicity" through individual life situations, without the ability to quantify the range of random possibilities. In contrast, the book [2] focused on "numeric" coincidences and life-changing events (such as the time of death or birth) that are objectively documented and historically significant.

Returning to the death of Pope Francis: the numbers associated with his passing clearly fall into the category of "significant numbers". He himself was a highly significant figure. Several numeric elements could mark the event: the date, month, year, age, and any combinations thereof. Additionally, we must consider different time zones - for example, Argentina and Vatican time. The number of possible meaningful numeric patterns associated with his death is roughly 25 (see the Appendix).

Now, to qualify as synchronicity, the coincidence must connect meaningfully to an important aspect of his life or death. The number 88235, corresponding to his San Lorenzo membership card, which might not seem to fit into the category of "important" or "logically related" numbers regarding his death. Nevertheless, we can still calculate the probability of such a match.

The chance of randomly selecting any specific 5-digit number is 1 in 90,000, or about 0.0000111. Assuming Pope Francis had around 10 different identity numbers associated with him (e.g., social security numbers, membership cards, etc.), and considering the 25 potential meaningful numbers linked to his time of death, the probability of a match by pure chance is:

0.0000111×10×25=0.0028.

That is, there is about a 0.28% chance of such a numeric match occurring randomly. This is a small probability for matching a number characterizing the date of death with some identification card number used during the lifetime of a person.

So, was this a synchronicity event? It is very likely if we believe that the two events - his death and soccer club - are meaningfully related, as explained in [2]. This phenomenon should be regarded as inherently a personal experience; therefore, we cannot disregard elements of faith in its assessment — the belief that certain life-changing events may carry meaningful connections. If one can argue that Pope Francis's love for soccer and his promotion of sports were central aspects of his life, then this connection could indeed be considered reasonable evidence of synchronicity.

by S.Chekanov (April 27, 2025)

References

[1] "Was it destiny? Fans spot powerful links between Pope Francis' love of soccer and his death". By Mike Snider, April 26, 2025. USA Today, Article (retrieved Apr 26, 2025)

[2] "The Designed World of Information: Unveiling the Incredible Realm Beyond", Book. By Dr. Sergei V. Chekanov, 466 pages, ISBN: 9798990642836; Hardcover 9798990642843, eBook ISBN 9798990642829; Book webpage: https://ermislearn.org/designed-world/

Appendix

Let's calculate how many numeric patterns can be created related to the time of Pope Francis's death.

• Year + Month + Day → 4 combinations

• Year + Month + Day + Time → 4 combinations

• Age + Year + Month + Day → 4 combinations

• Age + Time → 4 combinations

• Age + Year + Time → 4 combinations

We assume that each number can be reversed, and we apply a factor of 2 to account for both Vatican and Argentina times. Thus, the total number of combinations is 20.

Furthermore, we assume that addition may not be purely symbolic but can also be treated numerically. This only slightly increases the original 20 combinations, as permutations are not possible in this case. Therefore, we will assume a total of 25 combinations.

Other possible patterns that involve more complex mathematical manipulations should be considered unlikely, as observing patterns in such combinations is quite difficult.