Editorial

An avid fan, Pope Leo XIV views sports as a way to grow in relation to others and God

We’ve heard the stories of recently elected Pope Leo XIV and his love of sports.

From his continued interest in how teams at his college alma mater, Villanova University near Philadelphia, fare to his surprise appearance on an archived Fox Sports video of him sitting in the stands watching his beloved hometown Chicago White Sox battle the Houston Astros on their way to the 2005 World Series title, our Holy Father is not shy about rooting for teams where he feels a strong connection.

While many are quick to point out the pope’s love of sports, at 69, Pope Leo himself still likes to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Before being elected the Church’s universal shepherd last month, he was known to play tennis and work out at one of Rome’s health clubs, where it was reported he used cardio machines, stationary bikes and treadmills designed to improve cardiovascular endurance and burn calories.

Whether his election as the bishop of Rome will allow him to keep up a consistent workout schedule remains to be seen, but the pope recently reflected on the importance of athletics at a June 15 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to conclude the Jubilee of Sport. And he cited another avid sportsman, Pope St. John Paul II, in his homily at the liturgy.

“Sports are not only about physical achievements, however extraordinary, but also about giving of ourselves, putting ourselves ‘in play.’ It is about giving of ourselves for others—for our personal improvement, for our athletic supporters, for our loved ones, our coaches and colleagues, for the greater public, and even for our opponents,” Pope Leo said.

“Being a ‘good sport’ is more important than winning or not. St. John Paul II—himself, as we know, a sportsman—put it this way: ‘Sport is joy of life, a game, a celebration. As such, it must be fostered … by recovering its sheer gratuity, its ability to forge bonds of friendship, to encourage dialogue and openness toward others … quite apart from the harsh laws of production and consumption and all other purely utilitarian and hedonistic approaches to life.’ ”

Pope Leo told athletes and sports professionals attending the liturgy that “every good and worthwhile human activity is in some way a reflection of God’s infinite beauty, and sport is certainly one of these.”

The Mass, as reported by Catholic News Service, marked the conclusion of a weekend of celebrations of the world of sport throughout Rome. Panel discussions with athletes on sports and hope were part of the agenda, and a sports village in the center of the city brought together the world of athletics with faith, prayer and fraternity.

The June 15 liturgy also marked the feast of the Holy Trinity, a fact the pope said was not accidental. Noting the relational nature of the Trinity, he said “the life of God is a kind of ‘dance’: a dance of mutual love.”

Sports, he said, “can thus help us to encounter the triune God, because it challenges us to relate to others and with others, not only outwardly but also, and above all, interiorly.” Without such approaches, Pope Leo said, athletic competition “becomes nothing more than an empty competition of inflated egos.”

God sees everything and looks upon us with great love and affection. Because we know our heavenly Father is a witness to our lives, we would do well not to let our egos guide us—in athletics or in any way we live out our call to discipleship.

The pope noted three ways sports serve as a tool for human and Christian development: fostering a sense of community in an individualistic society; in an increasingly digital society, offering “a valuable and concrete means of bringing individuals together, providing a healthier sense of the body, of space, effort and real time;” and teaching the value of failure and resilience in a competitive culture.

“Athletes who never make mistakes, who never lose, do not exist. Champions are not perfectly functioning machines,” Pope Leo said, “but real men and women, who, when they fall, find the courage to get back on their feet.”

The Holy Father also mentioned Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a patron saint of athletes, who will be canonized on Sept. 7.

Sports, he noted, played “a significant role in the lives of many saints in our day, both as a personal discipline and as a means of evangelization.”

“[Blessed Frassati’s] straightforward and luminous life reminds us that, just as no one is born a champion, no one is born a saint,” Pope Leo noted. “It is daily training in love that brings us closer to final victory and enables us to contribute to the building of a new world.”

—Mike Krokos