Pope Leo XIV blesses cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia as final stage enters Vatican gardens
Pope Leo XIV blessed the more than 150 cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday as the three-week race's final stage began with an unprecedented ride through the Vatican gardens behind St. Peter's Basilica.
After entering the Vatican, overall race leader Simon Yates and leaders of the other classifications got off their bikes and walked forward to shake hands with the pope, who was presented with a replica of the leader's pink jersey.
'You are role models for young people all over the world,' Leo told the peloton. 'May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d'Italia. Congratulations to all of you. May you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican. You are always welcome by the church, which represents God's love for all people.'
In an off-script moment, Colombia's Nairo Quintana, the 2014 Giro champion, stopped to greet the pope after all of the other riders had already moved on.
While popes have blessed the Giro riders before and the race has previously passed through or next to St. Peter's Square, this marked the first time that the route took the peloton on a three-kilometer (nearly two-mile) route inside the Vatican walls.
Bringing the race inside the Vatican was originally intended as an homage to Pope Francis during the 2025 Holy Year but after Francis died, Leo — the first American pope — decided to honor the event in Francis' memory.
The cyclists entered the Vatican through the Petriano gate to the left of St. Peter's, rode around the basilica and then climbed up toward the gardens before exiting near the Santa Marta hotel at the Perugino gate.
Santa Marta was where Francis lived.
The passage through the Vatican occurred during the non-competitive neutralized period before the stage. The official start was given after the riders exited the narrow Perugino gate.
British rider Yates could cruise to the title with an advantage of nearly four minutes over Isaac Del Toro of Mexico.
The 143-kilometer (89-mile) final stage concluded with a circuit of eight laps through downtown Rome and finished next to the Circus Maximus.
It's the third time since Leo was elected last month that he has met with the sports world.
Two weeks ago, Leo held a private audience with top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner. Then last week, he welcomed the players and staff of Italian soccer champion Napoli to the Vatican.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
A falling tree in Venice injures a dozen people, including foreign tourists
Foreign tourists were among a dozen people injured when a 50-year-old tree fell next to a bus stop in the Italian lagoon city of Venice on Monday, authorities said. The oak tree fell on a group of people waiting in a shaded area at Piazzale Roma, the last stop for buses and taxis ferrying visitors to and from the lagoon city from the mainland, city officials said. It wasn't immediately clear why the tree fell. The most seriously injured was a 30-year-old Italian woman, who was sitting on a wall near the tree with her two small children when the tree fell, Italian media reported. The woman was in critical condition with abdominal injuries, while her children weren't seriously injured and placed under psychological care, according to hospital officials. Another Italian woman in her 50s also was in critical condition after suffering chest injuries. A video from the scene showed the tree had snapped at the trunk, just above the roots. "The tree was apparently healthy,' Francesca Zaccariotto, the city's top public works official, told the news agency ANSA. She added that the tree was monitored along with others in the city, and there had been no signs indicating a possible collapse. A 60-year-old American was under observation for a head injury, a 70-year-old American suffered facial injuries, and two tourists from Eastern Europe suffered multiple bruises. Four other Italians were slightly injured.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Grieving father unlocks his son's phone a year after his death to find a video of 'the killer wearing a mocking grin moments after the stabbing'
A grieving father who unlocked his son's phone a year after his murder was left horrified after finding a video showing his alleged killer mocking the crime moments after it happened. Michael Boschetto, 32, was allegedly murdered by his childhood friend Giacomo Friso, 34, in a tragic attack in northeast Italy that saw him get stabbed four times. Cops were unable to unlock Michael's phone for a year after the murder, which took place in April last year in Villafranca Padovana, Italy. Eventually, the device was handed back to Michael's father Federico, who enlisted his son's girlfriend to help him unlock it. The grief-stricken father told local media: 'My son's smartphone, which had been seized from Friso, was only returned to me after many months, with the explanation that they couldn't extract any data from it. 'Later, his girlfriend helped me unlock it - but I saw her go pale. When she turned the phone towards me, I understood why. 'On Michael's phone, there was a video of Friso filming himself as he walked into his house, dancing and making a victory sign. 'The face of that man, who had just been arrested for my son's death, was on his phone, wearing a mocking smile. 'Those 30 seconds showed Giacomo Friso almost pleased with having killed my son, making a gesture that seemed to say, "I did it, I killed him."' Though Friso initially claimed he acted in self defence, this new evidence appears to contradict him. The bereaved father added: 'During the video, there were details that didn't match the story I'd been told. 'According to him, he'd just fought with my son and had been beaten too - but he didn't even have a scratch on his face.' Local media reported that Friso banged on Michael's front door at around 4:30am on the night of his death. He went downstairs to let him in, and the pair argued before Friso left. The alleged killer then came back at 6am with a knife. Michael had been waiting outside his home for his girlfriend when Friso returned. The woman arrived shortly after to find him dead, with several stab wounds across his face and chest. Detectives believe that Giacomo had no clear motive. The men are said to have lived on the same street and to have known each other since childhood. The alleged killer was known locally for his erratic behaviour and had been seen wandering the streets with a knife in the days leading up to the attack. He had also reportedly just come out of rehab. The trial is scheduled to take place on September 11.
BreakingNews.ie
6 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Ralph Fiennes felt ‘flattered' when he learned Pope Leo XIV had watched Conclave
Conclave actor Ralph Fiennes said he felt 'flattered' when he learned the new Pope had watched the Oscar-winning film that sees his character arrange a papal gathering to elect the next head of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV made history as the Church's first American pontiff when he was elected leader in early May, following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. Advertisement The Pope's older brother, John Prevost, told NBC News that the former cardinal watched the movie before voting in the conclave began – so he would know 'how to behave'. Pope Leo XIV waves at the end of a Mass for the Jubilee of Families in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican (Andrew Medichini/AP) In an appearance on The One Show, Fiennes was asked about the film and whether he felt surprised at the news Pope Leo XIV had watched the movie. 'Didn't his brother suggest he watch it, so he could learn how a Conclave went or something? And I was of course flattered,' he told the show. Asked what he said to his brother before the conclave, Mr Prevost told NBC News in May: 'I said: 'Are you ready for this? Did you watch the movie Conclave, so you know how to behave?'' Advertisement 'And he had just finished watching the movie Conclave, so he knew how to behave,' he said with a laugh. Fiennes, 62, played Cardinal Lawrence in the film, also starring Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, that was adapted from Robert Harris's novel of the same name. He was nominated for leading actor gongs at the Oscars and Baftas earlier in the year, but missed out both times to Adrien Brody – who won for his role playing Laszlo Toth in historical epic The Brutalist. Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci and Edward Berger attends the BFI London Film Festival gala screening of Conclave (Ian West/PA) Overall, however, the film performed well during awards season and won the adapted screenplay Oscar and four Baftas for best film, adapted screenplay, editing and outstanding British film. Advertisement Fiennes, also known for playing Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series, appeared on the show to discuss Theatre Royal Bath's new staging of William Shakespeare play As You Like It, which he is directing. He said: 'I've done a lot of serious Shakespeare tragedies and histories with a lot of blood and gore and angst, and I just felt compelled by As You Like It. 'It's a wonderful play of spontaneous young love. And I've not been in it, so I have no baggage about having been in it. 'I've seen it before, and it's something about young love, young people transformed by love, by desire, in the context of a forest where, like in A Midsummer Night's Dream, their personalities, who they are, their sense of themselves, is changed by love and by nature.' Advertisement
