Vatican City: As the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan–Cortina were set to begin, Pope Leo XIV urged the Catholic Church to see sport not merely as competition or spectacle, but as a vital space where human and spiritual formation can be nurtured. In a wide-ranging reflection, the Pope said the Church has an important role in guiding athletes and sporting communities at a time when the integrity of sport and the dignity of players face growing threats.
In an eight-page letter on the value of sport, released on Friday, Pope Leo wrote that athletics can help foster a healthy balance between physical strength and inner growth. He warned, however, that modern sport is increasingly marked by distortions that risk reducing athletes to objects of performance, image, and commercial success. The Church, he said, can help restore harmony by encouraging sport to become a place where individuals learn to care for themselves without falling into vanity, to push their limits without self-destruction, and to compete without losing sight of fraternity and mutual respect.
The letter, titled “Life in Abundance,” draws its inspiration from Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Pope Leo, who has often described himself as a keen amateur tennis player, stressed that sport should serve the fullness of human life rather than dominate or distort it.
Highlighting the cultural challenges facing athletics today, the Pope pointed to what he called a growing culture of narcissism within sport. He noted that many athletes are pressured to obsess over their physical appearance, public visibility, and personal success, often measured by applause, social media attention, and external approval. Such dynamics, he warned, can undermine authentic human development and reduce sport to a tool for self-glorification.
Pope Leo also cautioned against the tendency to treat sport as a kind of substitute religion. In some contexts, he observed, athletes are elevated to the status of “saviours,” and sporting events take on a quasi-religious character. When sport seeks to replace faith or ultimate meaning, he wrote, it loses its true nature as a joyful game that enriches life and instead becomes something inflated, absolute, and harmful.
The timing of the letter was significant. It was dated and released on the very day the XXV Winter Olympic Games opened in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, an international event scheduled to run until February 22, followed by the XIV Paralympic Games from March 6 to 15. Acknowledging the global attention focused on the Games, the Pope extended his greetings and good wishes to all those directly involved, including athletes, organizers, and support staff.
Beyond the sporting arena, Pope Leo used the occasion to issue a broader appeal for peace. He called on nations to rediscover and respect the Olympic Truce, describing it as a powerful symbol of hope and reconciliation in a world deeply marked by conflict. In a time of escalating violence and division, he wrote, humanity urgently needs tools capable of ending the abuse of power, displays of force, and indifference toward the rule of law.
Lamenting what he described as the radicalization of conflicts, a refusal to cooperate, and the spread of a “culture of death,” the Pope argued that sport, when lived authentically, can offer an alternative vision one rooted in dialogue, respect, and shared humanity. In that sense, he concluded, athletics can become not just a competition for medals, but a genuine school of life that points toward peace, dignity, and abundant life for all.