Between 1934 and 2005 the club received four papal blessings.

The first one - from Pope Pius 11 and dated 20 April 1934 - was acquired when the club had a special pilgrimage to Rome to celebrate the closure of Pius XI's Holy Year (The foundation of the club in 1030 had been seen as part of the response to Pius XI's call for Catholic Action across the world);

The second - from Pope Pau VI and dated 13 October 1966 - did not coincide with any significant club event so I assume it was just thought a good idea to have a papal blessing from the New Pope;

The third - from Pope John Paul II dated 15 May 2000 - was for the 70th Anniversary of the Club's Foundation.

The most recent one - from Pope Benedict XVI and dated 1 August 2005 - 2005 was on the occasion of the Club's  75th anniversary.

Since the election of Pope Francis I have been saying it would be nice if
the St Francis Club had a blessing from the first Pope Francis and with the
onset of the 90th anniversary that might be a good idea. It would probably be the last one I would see because as I approach age 76 in 2020 I am not banking on being around for the centenery year in 2030 when there will surely be a blessing from whoever is Pope then.