Pope Leo XIV’s message to the world of sport: “Sport can help us come close to God in the Trinity”

“Today, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we are also marking the Jubilee of Sport,” Pope Leo underlined during the homily at Mass yesterday morning, in St. Peter's Basilica.

“The Trinity/sport pairing is not exactly common, but the comparison is not out of place. Every noble human activity carries within itself a 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 the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which opens up to humanity and to the world. Theology calls this reality perichoresis, that is, ‘dance’: a dance of mutual love. It is from this divine dynamism that life flows,” said the Holy Father.

In the Basilica yesterday, for Trinity Sunday, there were thousands of children, young people and adults all passionate about sport, who had come to Rome from all over the world for the jubilee weekend dedicated to them. "This is why sport can help us to encounter God in the Trinity: because it requires a movement of the self towards the other, certainly external, but also and above all internal. Without this, it is reduced to a sterile competition of selfishness", added the Holy Father.

He went on: "Let us think of an expression that, in the Italian language, is commonly used to encourage athletes during competitions: the spectators shout: "Dai!" [‘come on!’]. Perhaps we don’t notice it, but this is a beautiful imperative: it is the imperative of the verb "dare" [to give]. And this should help us reflect: it is not just a matter of giving a physical performance, perhaps extraordinary, but of giving oneself, of ‘playing’. It is about giving yourself for others – for your own growth, for your supporters, for your loved ones, for your coaches, for your collaborators, for the public, even for your opponents – and, if you are truly a sportsman, this is true irrespective of the result.”

The Pope then recalled three aspects that sport, today, “a precious means of human and Christian formation”.

He said: “First of all, in a society marked by loneliness, (...) sport teaches the value of collaboration, of walking together, of that sharing which, as we have said, is at the very heart of God’s life (...) Secondly, in an increasingly digital society, in which technology, while bringing distant people closer, can often distance those who are already close, sport enhances the concreteness of being together, the sense of the body, of space, of effort, of real time. Thus, it helps us fight the temptation to escape into virtual worlds, it helps to maintain a healthy contact with nature and with real life, the place where love is exercised. Thirdly, in a competitive society, where it seems that only the strong and the winners deserve to live, sport also teaches us how to lose, putting humanity in touch, through the art of defeat, with one of the deepest truths of our condition: our fragility, our limits, and our imperfections.”