Jubilee of Sport. Pope Leo XIV: No One is Born a Champion, What Counts is the Ability to Get Up

"It is no coincidence that in the lives of many saints of our time, sport has played a significant role, both as a personal practice and as a way of evangelization." These are the words of Pope Leo XIV during the mass celebrated on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport.

Prevost cites the example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, ''patron saint of athletes, who will be proclaimed a saint on September 7. His life, simple and luminous, reminds us that, just as no one is born a champion, so no one is born a saint. It is the daily training of love that brings us closer to the definitive victory and that makes us capable of working to build a new world. Saint Paul VI also affirmed this, twenty years after the end of the Second World War, reminding the members of a Catholic sports association how much sport had contributed to bringing peace and hope to a society devastated by the consequences of the war.''

"Champions are not infallible machines, but men and women who, even when they fall, find the courage to get up again."

"Dear athletes, the Church entrusts you with a beautiful mission: to be, in your activities, a reflection of the love of the Triune God for your own good and that of your brothers. Let yourselves be involved in this mission, with enthusiasm: as athletes, as trainers, as societies, as groups, as families." "The combination of Trinity and sport is not exactly in common use, yet the comparison is not out of place. In fact, every good human activity carries within itself the reflection of the beauty of God and sport is certainly among these. After all, God is not static, he is not closed in on himself, he is communion, a living relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which opens up to the world."

"This is why sport can help us meet the Trinity God, it requires movement of the self towards the other, certainly external, but above all internal. Without this it is reduced to a sterile competition of selfishness".

“Let's think of an expression that is commonly used in Italian to encourage athletes during competitions, spectators shout 'dai', perhaps we don't notice it, but it is a beautiful imperative, that of the verb dare. And this can make us reflect, it is not just giving a physical performance, but giving oneself. It is about giving oneself for others for one's growth, for supporters, for one's loved ones, for collaborators, for the public, even for opponents. If you are truly a sportsman this goes beyond the result”.