Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Italian seminarians gather on Thursday with Pope Leo XIV

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Pope Leo to seminarians: Learn to remain with Jesus

“The heart of the seminary experience” is “learning to be with the Master, Jesus,” Pope Leo XIV tells Italian seminarians from the Pius XI Regional Seminary in Molfetta and the Episcopal Seminary of Aversa.

By Christopher Wells

Pope Leo XIV focused on seminarians’ relationship with Jesus in an address to seminarians from two Italian seminaries, the Pius XI Regional Seminary in Molfetta, Puglia; and the Episcopal Seminary of Aversa, Campania.

The Pope emphasized that “study, discipline, and the stages of the journey” are necessary elements of formation, but must be grounded in a relationship with God.

The heart of the seminary experience

Reflecting on St Mark’s account of the appointment of twelve Apostles, Pope Leo described the seminary “experience,” beginning with “climbing the mountain” to be with Jesus. There, he said, “we can reach Christ and, above all, remain with Him,” which the Pope described as “the heart of the seminary experience.”

He recalled, too, that, as with the Apostles, Jesus calls men to the priesthood as an entirely free choice: “Jesus called to Himself those whom He wanted”; that is, not from merit, but “only by a free choice on the part of God the Father, a sign and pledge of a gratuitous love that always anticipates us and never disappoints.”

A sign of hope for the whole Church

Pope Leo told those studying for the priesthood that their very presence in seminary was “a sign of hope for the whole Church.”

“As I look upon you,” he said, I contemplate the wonder of God, who never tires of whispering in the hearts of young people the beauty of giving one’s life for Him and for the Church.”

Seminary, he continued, remains as necessary today as it was in the past. The Holy Father insisted on the importance of a period of formation that allows time for discernment in the midst of a fast-paced and noisy world.

At the same time, he emphasized the importance of community, recalling that Jesus called the Apostles as a community, as seminarians today are called into a community. Seminarians, he said, are not called for a purely private journey with the Lord, but “must always sense and experience the beauty of ecclesial mediation”.

Coming down from the mountain

Finally, Pope Leo said, seminary formation involves “coming down from the mountain, because the mountain is not a refuge”. Like the Apostles, seminarians are called to communicate to the world “the newness of life” that they have discovered with Jesus.

“You will therefore be called to come down from the mountain, to be sent to the people of your lands”, he said. “The priest is sent to all so that he may proclaim to all the beauty of Faith in Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation – the salvation given to us through Mary.” He invited them to entrust themselves to Mary so that they might have the grace to say “Yes” to Jesus every day, as she did.

Pope Leo concluded his address to seminarians by saying thank you, not only to seminarians, but also to their families, in his own name and in that of the entire Church.

Saturday, August 8, 2026

Pope Leo XIV plans visit to Shrine located in Genazzano Italy

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Pope to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano

At this Augustinian shrine, which he visited two days after his election to the papacy, Pope Leo will preside over Mass on September 7, on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A painting depicting him praying before the image of the Virgin will also be unveiled.

By Tiziana Campisi

Pope Leo XIV will return to Genazzano, the small town located about forty kilometers (about twenty five miles) from Rome — a summer resort during the Roman Empire and, in the Middle Ages, a village that later became part of the fiefdom of the Colonna family. It is home to the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, which was originally a small church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was entrusted to the Augustinian religious in the 14th century.

The Pope made a private visit on May 10, 2025, two days after his election to the papacy. Over a year later, he will travel to the Marian shrine on September 7 at 6:00 p.m. to celebrate Mass on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

First visit as Pope

“I very much wanted to come here during these first days of the new ministry that the Church has entrusted to me, in order to continue the mission as Successor of Peter,” Pope Leo told the Augustinian friars and the faithful gathered outside the basilica during his first visit to Genazzano as Pope. In the shrine’s guest book, he added that he had “felt the duty and a deep desire” to come to “the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel.”

“Throughout my entire life, she has accompanied me with her maternal presence, with her wisdom, and with the example of her love for her Son, who is always at the center of my faith. The way, the truth and the life. Thank you, Mother, for your help; accompany me in this new mission,” the Pope wrote.

He had entered the Order of Saint Augustine in the Augustinian Province of Chicago, which is itself dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel.

A personal with Our Lady of Good Counsel

The visit on May 10, 2025, was also Pope Leo’s first surprise outing.

As an Augustinian friar, he had visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel for decades. He first visited it as a young student in Rome in the early 1980s; later, he returned frequently as Prior General, and subsequently as Bishop of Chiclayo and as a cardinal.

Pope Leo prays before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel in May 2025 (@Vatican Media)

Before his election as Pope, his most recent visit had been for the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel on April 25, 2024. In his homily, he urged the faithful to look to Mary as an inspiration for spreading peace and reconciliation throughout the world.

Moreover, on the day of his election, May 8, 2025, before appearing on the Central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, he prayed in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, located to the right of the altar.

The history of the shrine

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel stands on the site where a small church dedicated to Mary had already existed in the 13th century, while the Augustinian friars lived in a small convent on the outskirts of the town of Genazzano.

In 1356, the Colonna family, who were the lords of the area, entrusted pastoral care of the place of worship to the friars. At the beginning of the 15th century, they decided to rebuild and enlarge it, together with the adjoining convent.

An Augustinian tertiary widow named Petruccia contributed to the project by selling all her possessions. Although she was mocked because she did not have sufficient funds to complete the work, she always maintained that the Blessed Virgin and Saint Augustine would bring it to completion.

On April 25, 1467, a miraculous event took place: an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on a wall of the church, which was still under construction. It was later recognized by two Albanian pilgrims as the same image venerated in Shkodër, Albania, which had disappeared from the place where it had been venerated.

The event caused great amazement and attracted thousands of faithful. Miracles and graces were reported, and thanks to the donations that poured in, the construction of the church and the Augustinian convent was completed.

Over the centuries, other pontiffs also visited the shrine in Genazzano: Urban VIII, Pius IX, John XXIII, and John Paul II. Their images are depicted on the walls of the shrine’s small chapel.

Regarding the upcoming visit and celebration on September 7, Father Ludovico Centra, rector of the shrine, told Vatican News that a painting depicting Pope Leo XIV praying before the image of the Virgin, like his predecessors, will be unveiled.

Saturday, June 20, 2026

Pope Leo XIV also visits Sant'Angelo Lodigiano to the birthplace of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

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Pope Leo: St Cabrini's mission to migrants remains urgent today

During a visit to the birthplace of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Pope Leo XIV recalls her devotion to the Sacred Heart and says her service to migrants remains a model for the Church in today's world.

Vatican News

Returning to the homeland of one of the Church's most celebrated missionaries, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini on Saturday, presenting her life and legacy as a model for addressing one of the defining challenges of the modern world: migration.

The Pope's visit to Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, a small Lombard town south of Milan, formed part of his pastoral journey to nearby Pavia. The visit carried particular symbolic significance. It was here, in 1850, that Francesca Cabrini was born before embarking on a life of mission that would take her across the Atlantic and eventually to Chicago, where she died in 1917. Canonized in 1946, she became the first saint of the United States and was later named Patroness of Migrants.

Speaking during a moment of Eucharistic Adoration and the veneration of the relic of Cabrini's heart in the Church of St. Antonio Abate and Santa Francesca Cabrini, Pope Leo reflected on the saint's enduring relevance for the Church today.

"I am here to pay homage to Mother Cabrini," the Pope told the faithful gathered in the church, greeting local civic and religious authorities, including Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti of Lodi.

Connection with Chicago

St Cabrini spent the final years of her life in Chicago, the city where Pope Leo XIV was born and raised. Recalling this connection, he thanked the people of Sant'Angelo Lodigiano for their warm welcome and praised the deep affection that the local Church has always shown toward the Successor of Peter—an affection that Cabrini herself embodied through what he described as her singular devotion and obedience to the Pope.

As a young religious sister, Cabrini had dreamed of becoming a missionary in China, inspired by St. Francis Xavier. Yet when she sought guidance from Pope Leo XIII regarding the future direction of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the answer was unexpected. Rather than sending her eastward, the Pope instructed her to go "not to the East, but to the West."

At the time, millions of Italians were leaving their homeland in search of a better future overseas, particularly in the Americas. Encouraged by Leo XIII and by St. John Baptist Scalabrini, another great apostle of migrants, Cabrini recognised in this movement of peoples one of the great pastoral challenges of her age.

Reading the signs of the times

Pope Leo described this decision as a profound example of reading the "signs of the times." Cabrini understood that her missionary aspirations were to be fulfilled not where she had originally imagined, but where the need was greatest.

Turning his attention to the present context, the Pope noted that migration remains one of the most pressing realities facing societies and the Church, albeit in a form far more complex than in Cabrini's era.

"If Mother Frances were living today," he asked, "what would her missionary soul say? What would the Heart of Christ say to her heart?"

The answer, he continued, lies in the spiritual source that animated every aspect of Cabrini's life: the love of Christ revealed in His Sacred Heart.

The Pope recalled that Pope Francis dedicated his final encyclical, Dilexit Nos, to the human and divine love manifested in the Heart of Jesus. That same devotion, he said, was the driving force behind Cabrini's extraordinary missionary activity. Her countless journeys, schools, hospitals, orphanages and charitable institutions were not simply social works but expressions of a profound encounter with Christ's love.

The Heart of Jesus

The Pope also referenced his own apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, in which he highlighted Cabrini's witness alongside that of St. John Baptist Scalabrini. Quoting the saint's own words, he recalled her conviction that "no work would be too difficult, no land too distant, and no person too wounded" for the love of the Heart of Jesus.

Standing before the relic of Cabrini's heart, brought from the congregation's motherhouse in nearby Codogno, the Pope suggested that her charism remains strikingly relevant in an age marked by displacement, social fragmentation and new forms of poverty.

"What could be timelier than a missionary charism dedicated to the service of migrants?" he asked.

Appeal to young people

The Pope also directed a special appeal to young people, encouraging them to discover Cabrini through her writings, letters and travel journals. Those who encounter her story, he said, inevitably find themselves captivated by a woman who united contemplation and action in an extraordinary way.

Deeply rooted in prayer and immersed in the love of Christ, Cabrini developed a remarkable capacity for work and perseverance. Her life, Leo XIV noted, reflected the Pauline motto adopted by her congregation: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me".

Cabrini’s enduring witness

Turning to the local Church of Lodi, the Pope expressed the hope that it would continue to reflect the virtues embodied by its most famous daughter: love for Christ, missionary zeal, generosity toward the poor and fidelity to the Gospel.

He also linked Cabrini's witness to the Church's commitment to synodality, encouraging Catholics to walk together in unity while drawing upon the diverse gifts and ministries present within the Christian community.

As he concluded his address, Leo XIV offered a prayer for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the congregation founded by Cabrini in 1880 and now active worldwide. He urged the entire Church to look to the saint as an example of how to serve God's Kingdom amid history.

More than a century after her death, the Pope suggested, Cabrini's message remains unchanged. In a world still marked by migration, uncertainty and human suffering, the Church's response must continue to begin where hers did: in the transforming love of the Heart of Christ.

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Pope Leo XIV to Bishops; it's not just numbers that proves effectiveness & fruitfulness; much more is important

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Pope to bishops: Church's fruitfulness should not be based on numbers

In an audience with members of the Italian Episcopal Conference at the conclusion of their 82nd General Assembly, Pope Leo urges a “focus on the essential” and keeping the priority on the Gospel, which “awakens us” in today’s world “marked by complexity.”

Vatican News

Meeting with participants in the 82nd General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference in the Vatican today, Pope Leo XIV expressed his affection to “all the Churches throughout Italy, to the priests, deacons, consecrated persons, families…and also to those who, perhaps without realizing it, carry in their hearts a thirst for God.”

This gift, he continued, is something he has had the grace to witness “even in a time like ours, marked by complexity.” The Pope explained he saw it firsthand on his trips to Pompeii, Naples, and Acerra.

Pope Leo added that there are many signs that reveal tiredness, fragmentation, and loneliness in people's lives. Sometimes, in communities, people can feel the challenge of passing on the faith and engaging younger generations. Yet, the Pope stressed, “the Gospel awakens us.”

The harvest is abundant

Continuing his greeting, Pope Leo reflected on a verse from Luke's Gospel - “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

As a tireless Sower, God enters the world day after day and “scatters” on people’s hearts the desire for the infinite, “for a life fulfilled, for a salvation that sets free.” Pope Leo noted that it is thanks to God the harvest is abundant. Our task, he said, is to take the Lord’s gaze and make it our own.

The Pope urged focusing on what is "essential", not the numbers (@Vatican Media)

We are not meant to merely “complain about hardened soil or dwell only on statistics.” Rather, the Pope stressed, we are called to “know how to see, with the eyes of the Risen Christ,” the harvest God is preparing for us.

Speaking directly to the Italian bishops, Pope Leo prayed that the Holy Spirit will bestow upon them hearts that are on fire with “the zeal of Christ”, and that many workers will work “alongside us.”

The priority is the Gospel

Keeping this in mind, “the priority is the Gospel”, the Pope explained. This is a thread that has run throughout the entire history of the Church—from St. Francis of Assisi to St. Paul VI to Pope Francis. Faith is born from the Gospel, “as a living encounter with Christ, dead and risen, present in His Church.”

In today’s world, Pope Leo noted that bringing the Gospel back to the center “is both the gift that gives enthusiasm to our lives as Bishops and the urgency that drives us onward.”

As a result, the bishops must ask themselves these two questions:

1. What face of God do we allow to shine through in our preaching, catechesis, liturgy, charity, and in the life of our communities?

2. How do we foster an encounter with Christ, and what does it mean today, for us and for our Churches, to initiate others into the Christian life?

Pastors, the Pope urged, should always themselves these questions, “never taking the answers for granted.”

Handing on the faith

This is where a renewed attention to the Christian tradition is important, but one which is more than just preparation for the Sacraments. The Sacraments are the “womb” in which a community “gives birth to faith and introduces people into the Paschal life, into communion with the Lord, into ecclesial fraternity.”

It is in living and welcoming communities that the faith can be handed on and grow. It is in the communities that listen and pray, that keep the Eucharist as “the source and summit”, that see the poor as brothers and sisters, and where families are not left behind.

For this purpose, bishops are called to be deep listeners to the Word of God, the People of God, and the signs of the times. When genuine listening is present, the community does not turn inward. Rather, it grows into a place of mission and discernment and therefore, knows how to renew itself.

This is what the Synodal Journey means. “A synodal Church is one in which each person, according to his or her vocation, can offer the gift received from the Spirit for the common building up,” Pope Leo highlighted.

That means participation is not optional. Rather, it is a “requirement of communion and mission and must therefore become method, responsibility, and accountability.”

Not based on numbers

The Pope stressed that God does not ask us to measure the fruitfulness of the Church according to numbers, visibility, or influence.

Instead, he urged the bishops to “have the courage to focus on what is essential.” The focus should be on an ongoing initiation and formation in Christian life, welcoming and missionary parishes where families can gather, and listening to young people without limiting their questions, among others.

Closing, Pope Leo entrusted the Italian bishops’ journey to Mary, the Mother of the Church. “May she help you to be ‘rooted and built up in Him, steadfast in the faith’ (Col 2:7), to safeguard what is essential, to generate faith, to walk with the People of God, and to recognize the voice of the Lord who still calls, consoles, and sends forth.”

Saturday, February 21, 2026

In Saturday address Pope Leo XIV says to avoid both naivete and 'prophets of doom'

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Pope: Avoid both naiveté and ‘prophets of doom’

Pope Leo receives members of the Italian Episcopal Conference’s “Policoro Project”, which supports young people in the country in finding employment.

Vatican News

“Young people, you are the beautiful face of an Italy that does not give up, that does not resign itself, that rolls up its sleeves and gets back on its feet.”

That was Pope Leo XIV's tribute on Saturday to members of the Policoro Project, created in December 1995 by Fr. Mario Operti, an Italian priest working in youth ministry.

From the outset, the initiative sought to evangelize the world of work, first in southern Italy and later throughout the country.

Born in the Mezzogiorno, or south of the country, an economically disadvantaged area plagued by organized crime, the project has since expanded beyond the workplace alone. The Pope praised its work against corruption, labour exploitation and injustice, and highlighted the transformation of assets confiscated from the mafia into social initiatives and support for young people launching businesses.

Spreading enthusiasm

Today, the Pope said, “we still need your commitment, especially in this season of demographic winter, of depopulation in the country’s most fragile areas, where young people risk becoming discouraged and withdrawing into themselves.”

Pope Leo added that “it is always time to spread your enthusiasm and sensitivity even to the most resistant environments and the most resigned people.”

To carry out its mission, the Policoro Project can rely on a “compass”: the Gospel, which holds “the true power that transforms hearts and the world,” and the Church’s social teaching, the study of which “helps us to love this age” and “provides tools to interpret reality.”

Pope Leo cautioned project members not to be “enchanted by prophets of doom who see everything negatively,” but neither to be naïve enough to think that everything is fine.

To build a society in keeping with God’s loving plan for humanity, he said, it is essential not to lose sight of the centrality of the human person, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, the universal destination of goods, participation, integral ecology and peace.

Community first

The third resource the Pope cited was the community, “as an incubator of the future.” While today’s culture promotes isolation, competition and the myth of the lone genius in economics, work, politics and communications, these fields in fact depend on “experts in social relationships”.

“When community life grows, in society as in the Church, we create the conditions for life to flourish,” Pope Leo said. “You will be fruitful whenever you care for community networks. Intelligence, talent, knowledge, social organization and industriousness develop thanks to good relationships.”

Those involved in the project, he added, can also rely on “spiritual fathers and mothers”, saints and witnesses whose social commitment over the centuries civic and charitable renewal. Pope Leo encouraged his listeners to learn about their lives and to share their stories, because there exists "a river of holiness that has made our communities fruitful."

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Pope Leo XIV announces visits across Italy from May - August

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Pope to visit Pompeii, Naples, and Lampedusa on pastoral tour of Italy

The Prefecture of the Papal Household announces Pope Leo’s pastoral day visits in Italy this year, including Pompeii, Naples, Acerra, Pavia, Assisi, Rimini, and Lampedusa.

By Salvatore Cernuzio and Kielce Gussie

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to make a number of trips in Italy, including to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, in 2026. The Prefecture of the Papal Household today announced the calendar of pastoral visits in Italy. The months of May, June, July, and August will be marked with these visits, meetings, and moments of prayer.

One year anniversary – in Pompeii and Naples

May 8 marks the one-year anniversary of Pope Leo’s election to the papacy and it will signal the start of this Italian tour. The Holy Father will begin his visits in Pompeii on this day.

One year prior, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV stepped out onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and said, “Today is the day of the Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close, and help us with her intercession and love.”

In 2026, the Pope will spend the day at the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii. This has been a pilgrimage destination for four Popes and millions of people who come gather for the Supplication to the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii twice a year, in May and November.

Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii

St. Bartolo Longo, whom Pope Leo canonized in October 2025, founded the Shrine and wrote the prayer that is used during this Supplication. The Pope will pray this same prayer after presiding over Mass.

He will stay for lunch in the city before heading to Naples in the afternoon. There, two events are scheduled: a meeting with the clergy and religious in the Cathedral and a gathering with the citizens in Plebiscito Square.

A trip long in the making

Just a few weeks later, Pope Leo will travel to Acerra—one of the towns in the “Land of Fires”. This is an area between Naples and Caserta which has been plagued for decades by the illegal disposal of toxic waste and the burning of plastic and industrial materials.

Together with Nola and Marigliano, Acerra makes up what international scientific journals have called the "Triangle of Death," due to the high mortality rate linked to environmental pollution

On May 24, 2020, Pope Francis was planning to visit the town of Acerra to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the encyclical Laudato si’. However, the COVID pandemic postponed the trip, which in the end did not take place.

On Augustinian soil

After almost a month, Pope Leo will make his next pastoral visit in Italy to the city of Pavia. On June 20, the Holy Father—who has repeatedly described himself as a “son of St. Augustine”—will travel to this city linked to the bishop of Hippo. In 722, St. Augustine’s remains had been transferred to the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro (Saint Peter in the Golden Heaven), where they remain to this day.

Across the sea…to Lampedusa

On July 4, the Pope will visit an island that held a special place in Pope Francis’ heart after his journey in 2013—the first of his pontificate. In the morning, Pope Leo will travel to the island, which has become a gateway for thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East to Italy and Europe.

During his visit, Pope Francis threw a wreath into the seas in honor of all the victims who have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea for a better life. Following in his predecessor’s footsteps, Pope Leo XIV will return to Lampedusa to offer comfort and encouragement to the guests at various hotspots and to those who assist them.

Back to Assisi

After a visit to Assisi to conclude the 81st General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference last year, the Pope will return to the Italian hillside city on August 6. During the first journey, the Holy Father promised the Franciscans he would come back for the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death.

Pope Leo praying at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in 2025

On the calendar for this August visit, Pope Leo is scheduled to meet with young people and preside over Mass at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

One final visit

His final visit will be to participate in the 47th edition of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples in Rimini. Besides meeting with the participants, the Pope will also preside over a Eucharistic celebration with the faithful of the Diocese.

Friday, February 6, 2026

Pope Leo XIV extends greeting & blessings as the Winter Olympics begins in Milan Italy

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Pope: Sport is important for humanity, respect Olympic truce

Ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in northern Italy, Pope Leo XIV issues the letter 'Life in Abundance' on the value of sport.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Hours ahead of the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina Winter Games, the Vatican released Pope Leo XIV’s letter, Life in Abundance, on the value of sport.

READ THE FULL TEXT OF POPE LEO'S LETTER ON SPORT HERE

The Pope begins the letter by expressing that on the occasion of the XXV Winter Olympic Games, 6–22 February, and the XIV Paralympic Games, 6–15 March, he wished to greet and extend his good wishes to those directly involved, while also offering everyone a reflection.

In the text, the Holy Father praises sport and reflects on the many ways it fosters human fraternity and helps individuals pursue what is good and holy.

Pope Leo recalls that during past Olympic Games, his predecessors emphasized the important role sport can play for the good of humanity, particularly in promoting peace.

He reiterates his appreciation that the Olympic Truce has been proposed again in recent years by the International Olympic Committee and the United Nations General Assembly.

Sport as instrument of peace

“In a world thirsting for peace," Pope Leo says, "we need tools that can put an ‘end to the abuse of power, displays of force and indifference to the rule of law.’" Decrying that before our eyes is a culture of death, he insists "that aggression, violence and war are always a defeat for humanity.”

"On the occasion of the upcoming Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games," the Pope reaffirms, "I wholeheartedly encourage all nations to rediscover and respect this instrument of hope that is the Olympic Truce, a symbol and promise of a reconciled world.”

Church called to offer pastoral care

Reflecting on sport, the Pope also reminds the Church to be pastorally present in the realm of sport and to offer accompaniment, discernment, and hope, citing Athletica Vaticana, created in 2018 as the official team of the Holy See and under the guidance of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, as an initiative which bears witness to "how sport can also be experienced as an ecclesial service."

“In this way," he encourages, "sport can truly become a school of life, where all can learn that abundance does not come from victory at any cost, but from sharing, from respecting others, and from the joy of walking together.”

Sport serves common good and personal development

“The Church," the Pope observes, "is called to be close to the world of sport when it is played professionally, as elite competition, or as an opportunity for success or media exposure, but also through particular concern for grassroots sport, which often lacks resources but is rich in relationships.”

In the reflection, Pope Leo invites the Church to be concretely present and to offer accompaniment, discernment, and hope. In this way, he says, sport can truly become a school of life, teaching that abundance does not come from victory at any cost, but from sharing, respecting others, and the joy of journeying together.

He also calls "for liberating sport from reductive mentalities that would transform it into mere spectacle or product."

Throughout the letter, Pope Leo warns against the exploitation of sport for political or financial gain, urging instead that it remain faithful to its mission of serving personal development and the common good.