The Jubilee Year of Hope is in full swing — and even sport has its own celebration. 

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Athletes from every continent — Olympians, Paralympians, youth, and families — have gathered in Rome to celebrate faith and athleticism. 

Pope Leo XIV welcomed the athletes and invited them to become “Missionaries of Hope”: 

“Sports are animated by hope, in the sense that they involve striving towards a goal, constantly trying to improve our performance and learning to work with others as a team.” 

At the Trinity Sunday Mass, the Pope reflected on how sport reveals the mystery of God. 

Then the Pope highlighted three virtues of sport: cooperation over isolation; presence in a digital age; and humility — learning to lose and rise again. He said that “Champions are not machines… they are real people, who get up after each fall.” 

The Jubilee of Sport was organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, led by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, together with the Italian Olympic Committee. For the Cardinal, the event reflects not only athletic excellence, but the spiritual training at the heart of the Christian life: 

“A champion doesn’t just wake up one morning and find themselves great — no, they have to train constantly. And it’s the same with the Christian life. We don’t wake up in the morning and discover we’re saints. No — the path to holiness is truly a continuous ascent. And then there’s the beauty of being together — in the Church, but also in sports practice — running with others, engaging in these movements and competitions that, in the end, are also exercises in fraternity. That is very important.”  

Leading the Vatican’s role in sport is its official multi-sport association Athletica Vaticana, founded in 2018 within the Dicastery for Culture and Education.  

Athletica Vaticana unites Vatican citizens, employees, and residents who practice sport not only to compete, but to witness fraternity, inclusion, and peace. 

At the helm of this unique initiative is Giampaolo Mattei, President of Athletica Vaticana: 

“There are athletes of all levels — professionals and amateurs — who live their Christian spiritual experience within the Church. At the same time, the Church has always been present in the world of sport. Saint Paul frequently speaks about it, and even in the catacombs of Rome, from the 4th century, you find images of Christian athletes. So this is not a new dialogue — it is a longstanding presence that now needs to be made even stronger and more conscious.” 

Central moments of the Jubilee included the athletes’ pilgrimage along Via della Conciliazione, crossing the Holy Door together, and the Jubilee Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica presided over by Pope Leo XIV. 

Beyond the main events, Rome hosted vibrant side celebrations. One highlight was the Caritas Cup, a football and netball tournament featuring young people from Scotland. Hosted by the Diocese of Motherwell, the youth delegation took part as a witness to service and community.  

Another memorable moment saw a friendly football match between the Pontifical Swiss Guard’s FC Guardia — the Vatican’s own football club founded in 1924 — and a specially assembled Hungarian team honoring the legacy of football legend Ferenc Puskás. 

In the days leading up to the Jubilee, Pope Leo XIV also welcomed the entire field of the Giro d’Italia, as they entered Vatican territory for the first time in history. 

The 159 riders pedaled a three-kilometer neutralized route through the Vatican Gardens, past Marian shrines and the Lourdes grotto replica, before exiting via the Perugino Gate — transforming their final stage into a symbolic pilgrimage on wheels. 

The Jubilee of Sport shows that sport is more than competition — it’s a path of hope, fraternity, and faith in motion that leads us closer to God. 

Adapted by Jacob Stein 

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Bénédicte Cedergren and Alexey Gotovskiy contributed to this story 

Produced by Alexey Gotovskiy; Camera: Fabio Gonella, Alberto Basile, Sergio Natoli; Special thanks & Credits: Athletica Vaticana, Radiotelevisione italiana