At Angelus, new appeal for peace “in the Middle East, Ukraine and throughout the world”. In Myanmar, ‘despite the ceasefire, the bombings continue,’ Pope Leo XIV recalled. In Nigeria, 200 people died in a ‘terrible massacre’ at a Catholic mission: ‘May security, justice and peace prevail.’ In his homily in St. Peter's: sport promotes ‘a culture of encounter and brotherhood.’

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Today, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Pope Leo XIV presided over the Eucharistic celebration for the Jubilee of Sport in St. Peter's Basilica at 10 a.m before about 6,500 faithful, mostly athletes and sports professionals.

Ahead of the Angelus, the Pope emphasised that sport can be a “way to build peace”, as it is dedicated to values such as “respect” and “loyalty”, which promote a “culture of encounter and brotherhood”. This is what today's world “so badly needs”.

‘There are many armed conflicts. In Myanmar, despite the ceasefire, fighting continues, with damage to civilian infrastructure,’ the pontiff recalled.

‘I invite all parties to embark on the path of inclusive dialogue, the only one that can lead to a peaceful and stable solution.’ These words echo the appeal made yesterday at the end of the Jubilee audience, referring to the worrying conflict between Israel and Iran. But another ‘terrible massacre’ took place between 13 and 14 June in the town of Yelwata, Benue State, Nigeria.

‘About two hundred people were killed with extreme cruelty, most of whom were internally displaced persons hosted by the local Catholic mission,’ said Pope Leo XIV. ‘I pray that security, justice and peace will prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country,’ he said.

A thought also goes to the Republic of Sudan, crushed by a humanitarian crisis that has no equal in the world. A land ‘devastated by violence for over two years,’ he continued.

‘I have received the sad news of the death of Rev. Luke Jumu, parish priest of El Fasher, victim of a bombing.’

And for the country with the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world, Pope Prevost appealed to the combatants "to stop, protect civilians and engage in dialogue for peace. I urge the international community to intensify its efforts to provide at least essential assistance to the population, which has been severely affected by the serious humanitarian crisis,‘ he said from St. Peter's.

Pope Leo concluded with a prayer  ’for peace in the Middle East, in Ukraine and throughout the world".

In the text of his homily read during the celebration, Pope Leo XIV stated that the combination of sport and the Trinity, although not ‘commonly used’, is not an “inappropriate” pairing. ‘Every good human activity, in fact, bears within itself a reflection of God's beauty, and sport is certainly among these,’ he said.

‘After all, God is not static, He is not closed in on Himself. He is communion, a living relationship.’ A dynamism from which ‘life flows.’ Sport, therefore, can be a vehicle for encountering the Trinity, inasmuch as it ‘requires a movement of the self towards the other, certainly external, but also and above all internal,’ added the pontiff.

He then focused on an expression used in Italian to ‘encourage’ athletes: ‘Dai!’ (‘Come on!’). ‘It is a beautiful imperative: it is the imperative of the verb “dare” (to give),’ explained Pope Leo.

‘This can invite us to reflect: it is not just a matter of giving a physical performance, perhaps extraordinary, but of giving oneself, of “playing”.’

He then spoke of three aspects that make sport today ‘a valuable means of human and Christian formation.’

First of all, ‘sport - especially team sports - teaches the value of collaboration, of walking together, of sharing.’ In a world that seems to be increasingly individualistic, sport can be ‘an important tool for reconciliation and encounter: between peoples, in communities, in schools and workplaces, and in families.’

Secondly, in an increasingly digital society, sport ‘values the concreteness of being together, the sense of the body, of space, of effort, of real time.’

The third aspect concerns the ability of sport to teach ‘even how to lose, confronting man, in the art of defeat, with one of the deepest truths of his condition: fragility, limitation, imperfection’.

‘It is no coincidence,’ added the Pope, that sport has also played a significant role in the lives of many saints.

‘Let us think of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, patron saint of sportspeople, who will be proclaimed a saint on 7 September. His simple and luminous life reminds us that, just as no one is born a champion, no one is born a saint,’ he said.

‘It is the daily training of love that brings us closer to the final victory and enables us to work for the building of a new world.’