Milan, June 2 (LaPresse) – With major sporting events, such as the World Cup, just days away, Pope Leo XIV dedicates his prayer intention for the month of June to the values of sport, “to build communion and fraternity throughout history.” Through the “Pray with the Pope” campaign, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network—a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus, present in over 90 countries and bringing together a spiritual community of more than 22 million people—invites the faithful each month to join in the Pope’s intentions. Thus, in June, the invitation is to pray that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue between cultures, promoting respect, solidarity, and personal growth. At the beginning of his prayer, Pope Leo raises his supplication to the “Lord of life,” giving thanks for the gift of sport: for those who “glorify God through physical exercise, for the friendships that blossom on the field, and for the joy of playing as a team.” The Pontiff asks that sport may always be “a school of fraternity and not of sterile rivalry, a space for encounter and not for exclusion, a path of peace and not of violence.” He also emphasizes that sport possesses “a universal language that brings cultures closer, unites peoples, and sows respect, solidarity, and personal growth.” At the end of the prayer, the Pope turns to God, imploring that “we may never lack your Spirit, which makes us a single team, united with You, to build communion and fraternity throughout history.”
2026 World Cup, Pope: “Sport should build peace, not foster fruitless rivalry”
Milan, June 2 (LaPresse) – With major sporting events, such as the World Cup, just days away, Pope Leo XIV dedicates his prayer intention for the month of June to the values of sport, “to build communion and fraternity throughout history.” Through the “Pray with the Pope” campaign, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network—a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus, present in over 90 countries and bringing together a spiritual community of more than 22 million people—invites the faithful each month to join in the Pope’s intentions. Thus, in June, the invitation is to pray that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue between cultures, promoting respect, solidarity, and personal growth. At the beginning of his prayer, Pope Leo raises his supplication to the “Lord of life,” giving thanks for the gift of sport: for those who “glorify God through physical exercise, for the friendships that blossom on the field, and for the joy of playing as a team.” The Pontiff asks that sport may always be “a school of fraternity and not of sterile rivalry, a space for encounter and not for exclusion, a path of peace and not of violence.” He also emphasizes that sport possesses “a universal language that brings cultures closer, unites peoples, and sows respect, solidarity, and personal growth.” At the end of the prayer, the Pope turns to God, imploring that “we may never lack your Spirit, which makes us a single team, united with You, to build communion and fraternity throughout history.”
