Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for June calls on Catholics worldwide to pray that sport "be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations."
The intention continues a recurring theme of Pope Leo’s young pontificate: his emphasis on sport and the communal lessons learned through athletic competition. The Pontiff himself regularly plays tennis, and he has publicly voiced his support for the Chicago White Sox.
June’s installment of the monthly "Pray with the Pope" video series produced by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network showed an original prayer recorded inside the Church of San Pellegrino in Vatican City.
In it, the Pope thanked God for "the gift of sport, for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies, for the friendships born on the field and the joy of playing as a team."
"In times of war and extreme polarization, sport is one of the few things that bring us closer together," Pope Leo said in the video.
“You teach us that in life, as in the game, no one is saved alone," he prayed. "We need others to grow, to learn respect, to overcome our limits, and to celebrate together the victories we achieve."
The Pope prayed that sport "may always be a school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry, a space of encounter, not exclusion, a path of peace, not violence." He also asked that athletes, coaches, and fans alike would "discover in sport a universal language that brings cultures together, unites peoples, and sows respect, solidarity, and personal growth."
The Pope’s Prayer intention for the month of June is to pray “for the values of sports”, that all sport may promote peace, fraternity and communion.
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) June 2, 2026
“Lord of life, we thank you for the gift of sport, for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies, for the… pic.twitter.com/Wmot19FKZn
Earlier this year, Pope Leo released Life in Abundance, a letter on the value of sport published on the opening day of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The letter explained that sport teaches "a deeper understanding of life, in which success is never definitive and failure is never the last word," Zeale News reported.
The Holy Father also used the letter to highlight Athletica Vaticana, the Vatican's sports association established in 2018 under the Dicastery for Culture and Education. According to Sportanddev.org, the organization presented the Olympic "Cross of Athletes" to the Archdiocese of Milan ahead of the Winter Games, continuing a practice carried out before Olympic host cities since 2012.
On April 9, Pope Leo welcomed Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the Milan-Cortina Games to the Vatican, describing their participation as a "truly prophetic act: breaking the cycle of violence to foster encounters."
He concluded his June prayer intention with a call for unity, saying: "May your Spirit never be lacking in us, making us one team, united with you to build communion and fraternity in history."