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Pope Francis to Receive Highest Olympic Order

IOC chairman Thomas Bach held a private audience with Pope Francis on Friday. (L'Osservatore Romano/AP)

IOC chairman Thomas Bach held a private audience with Pope Francis on Friday. (L'Osservatore Romano/AP)

Pope Francis won't appear on an Olympic medal stand, but the leader of the Catholic Church will get gold medal-winner treatment Saturday. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will present the Pope the gold Olympic Order -- the highest IOC award -- Saturday at the Vatican, according to Olympic.org.

During a private audience on Friday, Bach and the Pope reportedly agreed on the importance of sports in society and their contributions to building a more peaceful and better world.

Pope Francis, a native of Argentina, already did the IOC a solid by blessing the Olympic and Paralympic flags with holy water for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

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