A few days before major sports competitions, such as the soccer World Cup, Pope Leo XIV dedicated his prayer intention for the month of June to the values of sport, “to build communion and fraternity in history”.
The invitation is to pray “that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter and dialogue between cultures, promoting respect, solidarity and self-improvement”. A request expressed in the campaign ‘Pray with the Pope’ of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, which invites the faithful each month to join in the Pontiff's intentions.
At the beginning of his prayer, Pope Leo raises his supplication to the “Lord of life”, giving thanks for the gift of sport: for those who “glorify God with the exercise of the body, for the friendships that are born on the field and for the joy of playing in a team”.
The Pontiff asks that the sport be always “a school of fraternity and not of sterile rivalry, a space of encounter and not of exclusion, a path of peace and not of violence”.
Sport as a way to build peace
In little more than a year of pontificate, this is not the first time that Pope Leo XIV has drawn attention to the values of sport. Already on June 15, 2025, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport held in Rome, he had spoken of sport as an instrument of peace.
“Sport is a way to build peace, because it is a school of respect and loyalty, which makes the culture of encounter and fraternity grow”.
During his homily that same day, the Pontiff also stressed that we are “in a society marked by loneliness, in which exaggerated individualism has shifted the center of gravity from “we” to “I”, ending up by ignoring the other. Sport - especially when it is team sport - teaches the value of collaboration, of walking together”, thus becoming an important instrument of reconciliation and encounter between peoples.
"A bridge of dialogue that transcends borders, languages and ideologies”.”
The culture of sport as an instrument of peace has its roots in centuries of history, from the very origins of the Olympic Games. The tradition of the Olympic Truce - known in Ancient Greece as Ekecheiria - arose in the 9th century B.C. as an agreement between conflicting city-states to guarantee safe participation in the Games, transforming the Olympic Games into an event of peace. C. as an agreement between conflicting city-states to ensure safe participation in the Games, transforming sport into a bridge for dialogue and peaceful coexistence.
In this spirit, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) relaunched this concept in the 1990s, with the aim of enhancing the transformative power of the Olympic Games. sport as an instrument of peace and reconciliation.
Valors that will transform our way of living together
The international director of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, Father Cristobal Fones, affirms: “Sport is one of those unique spaces where humanity truly meets. It is a bridge of dialogue that transcends borders, languages and ideologies. On the field, on the track, in the swimming pool, people from different cultures and nations share the effort, the sacrifice, the joy of victory and the pain of defeat”.
"The sport teaches us constancy, discipline, the value of a job well done, humility in the face of our own limits. And perhaps the most beautiful thing: it reminds us that no one really wins alone. We need the other. That is why the Pope invites us to pray that these very human values - respect, solidarity, personal growth - will not remain confined to the playing field, but will transform our way of living together in the world.”.
Pope's prayer in the video message
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord of life,
we thank you for the gift of sport,
by those who glorify God with the exercise of their bodies,
for the friendships that are born on the court
and the joy of playing as a team.
You teach us that in life, as in the game,
no one is saved alone.
We need each other to grow,
to learn to respect, to overcome limits,
and celebrate together our achievements.
We ask that the sport always be
school of fraternity and not of empty rivalry,
space of encounter and not of exclusion,
path of peace and not violence.
Have those who practice, coach or cheerlead
discover in sport a universal language
that brings cultures together, unites peoples,
and sows respect, solidarity and self-improvement.
Lord Jesus,
may each sport be a parable of a life lived with you,
collaborating with effort and joy,
living with humility in defeat
and gratitude in the victory you offer us in your resurrection.
May your Spirit never fail us,
that makes us one team, united with you
to build communion and fraternity in history.
Amen.
(Source: The Pope's Video and Vatican News).
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