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Pope’s message for 100 years of the newspaper “Sport-Stadio Courier”
“Think and live sport as a hymn to life!”
Pope Francis’ Message for the 100th anniversary of the newspaper Sport-Stadio Courier”,
was released on 20th October 2024
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Best wishes!
One hundred years is an important milestone, a nice trophy to put in your trophy case!
Even bigger than the one for the circulation of two million copies sold on the occasion of Italy’s victory at the 2006 World Cup!
You have had a good run in these hundred years: after all, among those who contributed to the birth of the newspaper there was a certain Enzo Ferrari, who knew about engines and victories!
I would like to thank the director, Ivan Zazzaroni, for sending me a nice letter about the centenary of the newspaper, and I am happy to be with you on this day of celebration.
When I think of sports and of my country, Argentina, before I think of the great soccer facilities like the Bombonera, I think of when we were children and played soccer with a ball made of rags.
Many champions began this way, playing carefree with friends on improvised pitches between houses, even in very poor contexts.
How beautiful it is to experience the feeling of fraternity: we play, and we play together,
and we know that we are only opponents on the field, never enemies.
You learn the joy of victory and you know the sweat and commitment that it takes,
You also learn from defeat, trying to get up and learn from the mistakes made to try to overcome them next time, or simply to accept your diversity and your limitations: we are all precious and unique,
But we are not perfect.
Some say that I am a fan of San Lorenzo, an Argentinian team: it remains a secret, but one thing seems beautiful to me in the history of that team.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the boys who played in the streets were looking for a safe place to play soccer, a priest of Italian descent, a Salesian, Don Lorenzo Massa, opened the doors of the oratory and a beautiful adventure began.
Today we still need places to play sports, especially in the poorest and most isolated areas, but above all we need adults who can welcome children and young people in an authentic way, who know how to listen to their dreams and who want to build a better future with them.
Let us also think that here in Italy how much good has been done through the fields of parishes and oratories, and how many young people who are now sports champions often remember starting from the fields of the parish.
Let us also remember how much good has been done here in Italy through the fields of parishes and oratories, for the sporting events that concern it within its borders and abroad.
Sport is one of the factors that make us feel like one people, as when we stand up to sing the national anthem, at home, in the stadium or in the gym..
How important it is to walk together, to feel part of a single family, and of a family of nations at the Olympic Games or at world or continental championships.
In recent years we have too often seen neighboring peoples, or groups within the same countries, rise up armed against each other with weapons.
Competition in sports is healthy, because it requires patience, listening to the coach, respect for opponents, rules and referees and cooperation with teammates.
In the world, on the other hand, the goal is often to destroy the opponent, to make one’s own rules, and to reject those who want to motivate confrontation between the parties according to international law.
Spreading a healthy sports culture in this sense means growing humanity in its most beautiful and authentic values, and for this I thank you.
Although, in recent years we have unfortunately witnessed some reprehensible acts of intolerance,
I am sure that there are many more examples of sporting ‘teamwork’, without race, class or religion denomination being an obstacle or a barrier.
I encourage you to promote this climate of friendly and welcoming humanity.
We must reject any logic of exclusion and violence, and for this reason we know well that the word has its value, to educate to the good and the beautiful, rather than to destroy.
A newspaper article, even a sports article, can do a lot of good, but it can also do harm or create a climate of mistrust: please don’t be like that!
On the subject of reception and international human promotion: for organizational reasons alone, it is not possible to hold the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games at the same time.
At the recent Paralympics in Paris, we rejoiced at the many successes of incredible boys and girls: for some of them, the gold medal was life-giving, because of the way they were able to overcome the challenges of their disability with inner strength and the help of everyone.
Their races are a celebration of life!
Let your newspaper tell of victories and defeats but let it be a way of thinking and experiencing sport as a hymn to life!
Thank you for who you are and for what you do. Do not forget to pray for me.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 19 October 2024
FRANCIS
