Pope Leo XIV met with players and management from Inter Milan, the winners of this season’s Italian Serie A soccer league, during a private audience at the Vatican on Saturday, May 9.
At the meeting, Pope addressed the newly crowned Champions of Italy and shared in the joy of their sporting achievement, while urging them not to stop there, but to “reflect on the experience they have lived”, in order to bring the young people “a useful message” for their growth.
“Many of them, at this time, look to you as their heroes, as role models to emulate, and this entrusts you with a responsibility that goes beyond performance and calls upon you, as sportsmen, to be witnesses to values,” the Pope said.
Pope recalled Inter’s meeting in 1991 with Saint John Paul II, as the then Pontiff had highlighted the important role of the Nerazzurri club in Italian football history and had entrusted the players with a responsibility to keep firmly in mind — “Ensure that many people can recognize in you and in your conduct authenticity and unwavering integrity.”
Inter’s president and chief executive Giuseppe Marotta, vice president Javier Zanetti, owners Oaktree, the board, the manager, the squad and the entire staff received his blessing during the meeting.
Marotta also presented the Pope with a historic personalized Inter shirt bearing the number 10 and the name LEONE XIV.
