BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
As the Winter Games opened Friday in Milan and Cortina, Pope Leo XIV marked the occasion with a sweeping reflection on the moral and spiritual meaning of sport, praising its capacity to enrich human life while cautioning that unchecked commercialism and an obsession with performance threaten to undermine its very soul.
In a message titled “Life in Abundance,” released on the day of the opening ceremony, the pope drew on centuries of Christian thought to frame sport and leisure as essential elements of both physical well-being and spiritual growth. He also renewed his appeal for world leaders to honor the ancient Olympic tradition of a truce, urging the Games to serve as a moment for dialogue and restraint in a divided world.
Speaking not only as a spiritual leader but also as an experienced athlete, Leo offered a nuanced meditation on the tension between authentic competition and what he described as a modern “dictatorship of performance.” He warned that practices such as doping, match-fixing and other forms of corruption distort the purpose of sport and erode public trust.
“Such dishonesty not only corrupts sporting activities themselves,” the pope wrote, “but also demoralizes the general public and undermines the positive contribution of sport to society as a whole.”
Leo emphasized that sport must remain accessible to all, particularly the poor and women, and cautioned fans against turning athletic competition into a form of fanaticism. Athletes, he said, also bear responsibility to resist narcissism and the temptation to define themselves solely by victory, fame or image.
“The cult of image and performance, amplified by media and digital platforms, risks fragmenting the person, separating body from mind and spirit,” he warned, adding that such fragmentation runs counter to the deeper human unity that sport should foster.
True sport, Leo argued, is rooted in a shared ethical agreement among competitors, one in which rules are respected and the integrity of the contest is preserved. Accepting physical limits, fatigue and the constraints of time, he said, teaches discipline and humility while reinforcing the values of perseverance and loyalty.
“Accepting the limits of one’s body and respecting the established rules means recognizing that success comes from discipline, perseverance and loyalty,” he wrote, framing sport as a school of character rather than a mere spectacle.
The pope’s reflections were informed by a lifelong engagement with athletics. Now 70, Leo is known for his regular tennis matches and swimming sessions at his country residence, where he retreats briefly each week. He is also a devoted fan of the Chicago White Sox and has long incorporated exercise into his daily routine. Before his election, he maintained a disciplined workout schedule in Rome, focusing on cardiovascular fitness and posture.
His passion for tennis has become a hallmark of his public image. When he was elected pope, the Italian Open was underway, and one of his first audiences was with Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner, who presented him with a racket. In his message Friday, Leo returned to the sport to illustrate what he called the “flow experience,” the moment when players are pushed just beyond their comfort zone in a sustained rally.
“The reason this is one of the most enjoyable parts of a match is that each player pushes the other to the limit of his or her skill level,” he wrote. “The experience is exhilarating, and the two players challenge each other to improve; this is as true for two ten-year-olds as it is for two professional champions.”
Drawing again on personal experience, Leo urged athletes to uphold sportsmanship and grace in both victory and defeat. Playing fairly, he said, unites people and honors the journey as much as the outcome.
“It teaches us that we can strive for the highest level without denying our own fragility; that we can win without humiliating others; and that we can lose without being defeated as individuals,” he wrote.
Leo’s engagement with sport follows a long tradition among popes who have used athletics, and particularly the Olympic Games, to promote peace, solidarity and human dignity. Earlier this week, he renewed his call for an Olympic truce, encouraging political leaders to seize the moment to pursue gestures of de-escalation and dialogue.
His predecessors were similarly attentive to the sporting world. St. John Paul II was an avid skier and mountaineer, while Pope Benedict XVI favored contemplative walks in the mountains. Pope Francis, though not athletic himself, was a lifelong supporter of Argentina’s San Lorenzo football club and frequently spoke about teamwork and camaraderie in sport. During his pontificate, the Vatican even fielded its own track and cycling athletes in international competitions.
Francis also repeatedly warned of the darker side of professional sport, condemning doping, corruption and match-fixing as betrayals of fair play. Leo’s message builds on that legacy, reaffirming the idea that sport, at its best, can be a powerful force for unity, education and moral growth — but only if its human values are protected from the pressures of profit and spectacle.
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