In a powerful video message released on July 15, Pope Leo XIV called on humanity to rise above division, violence, and hatred by rediscovering unity through compassion, dialogue, and shared causes. Addressing participants of the annual charity football match “La Partita del Cuore” (“The Match of the Heart”) held in L’Aquila, Italy, the Pope emphasized that fostering peace begins with the simplest of actions meeting, listening, and standing together.
“This match must speak for peace our humanity depends on it,” the Pope declared. Organized by the Holy See’s Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital and Italian Caritas, the event raised funds for “Progetto Accoglienza” (“Project Welcome”), which offers housing and support for disadvantaged families with children undergoing treatment.
Pope Leo encouraged participants to learn from children’s innate capacity to welcome others and to resist the growing tide of hostility in today’s world. “It’s still possible even in the face of war and falling bombs to come together,” he said, urging people to become bridges instead of barriers.
The Pope invoked the 1914 Christmas Truce of World War I, where opposing soldiers paused to play a football match, as a reminder that even amidst conflict, moments of peace can prevail. He praised the charity match as a “gathering for healing, not harm for life, not destruction.”
He went on to affirm the transformative power of music, sport, television, and politics in healing divisions. “Sports can turn confrontation into community; television can share communion instead of conflict; politics must build dialogue, not enemies,” he stressed. “And music? It brings our words and memories to life.”
Concluding his address, the Pope called for united action in service of others: “Let us meet in the heart because in God’s heart, we are already one.”