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Straits Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Pope Leo meets Italian Serie A champions Napoli
Pope Leo XIV meets with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS Pope Leo XIV meets with SSC Napoli players and managers after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS Pope Leo XIV meets with Napoli player Scott McTominay after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS Pope Leo XIV meets with SSC Napoli players and managers after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS Napoli Player Romelu Lukaku looks on, as Pope Leo XIV meets with SSC Napoli players and managers after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS Pope Leo XIV meets with Napoli coach Antonio Conte and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS Pope Leo XIV meets with SSC Napoli players and managers after Serie A title victory, at the Vatican, May 27, 2025. Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo XIV welcomed Italy's newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli to the Vatican on Tuesday, joking about his own soccer allegiances. Napoli won their fourth "Scudetto" on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season. The team, captained by Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived for their papal audience a day after a triumphant open-top bus parade through central Naples. "The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true," the pope said, according to a transcript. Leo, the first pope to come from the U.S., follows and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him have described him to the media as an AS Roma supporter. Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave him a blue Napoli jersey signed by players, bearing the number 10 and his name in Italian, "Papa Leone XIV". "You are a number 10, so you are a great striker", De Laurentiis said. Leo replied with a chuckle and a simple "thank you". Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis introduced as "deeply Catholic", knelt down and kissed the pope's hand, before Leo told him he had seen him many times on TV. In a short speech, the pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, and sport's educational value, especially for young people. Winning comes "at the end of a long journey, where what matters the most is not a one-time exploit or the extraordinary performance of one champion", he said. "The championship is won by the team, and when I say 'team' I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club," he added. Leo ended his remarks giving his blessings to players and club officials, and offering congratulations, also on behalf of his personal cook. "She is from Naples and she says: best wishes! She would like to be here too, Mrs Rosa, (she is) a big fan", the pope said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CBS News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pope Leo XIV calls for unity in inaugural Mass at the Vatican
Pope Leo XIV called for unity in the Catholic Church during his inaugural mass in St. Peter's Square before an estimated 150,000 pilgrims, presidents, patriarchs and princes. Pope Leo officially opened his pontificate by taking his first popemobile tour through the piazza, a rite of passage that has become synonymous with the papacy's global reach and mediatic draw. The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary smiled and waved from the back of the truck. Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful in St. Peter's Square for the Inauguration Mass on May 18, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Simone Risoluti / Getty Images During the Mass, the pontiff appeared to choke up when the two potent symbols of the papacy were placed on him – the pallium woolen stole over his shoulders and the fisherman's ring on his finger. He turned his hand to look at the ring and seal and then clasped his hands in front of him in prayer. In his homily, Pope Leo said he wanted to be a servant to the faithful through the two dimensions of the papacy, love and unity, so that the church could be a force for peace in the world. "I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world," he said. "In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest." Pope Leo XIV (formerly Robert Francis Prevost) presided over his inauguration mass in St Peter's Square after his election on May 8th. Elisabetta Trevisan / Getty Images His call for unity was significant, given the polarization in the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond. Vice President JD Vance, one of the last foreign officials to meet Pope Francis before he died, led the U.S. delegation honoring the Chicago-born Pope Leo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and multiple members of Congress joined him. "Let us build a church founded on God's love, a sign of unity, a missionary church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made restless by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity," Leo said, referencing some of the themes of Francis' pontificate as well. U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at St. Peter's Square for Pope Leo XIV's celebration of the Mass for the inauguration of his pontificate in the Vatican, on May 18, 2025. Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu via Getty Images At the end of the Mass, Pope Leo expressed hope for negotiations to bring a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine and offered prayers for the people of Gaza — children, families and elderly who are "reduced to hunger," he said. Leo made no mention of hostages taken by Hamas from southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as Francis usually did when praying for Gaza. After the Mass, Pope Leo greeted the delegations one by one in the basilica and had proper audiences scheduled on Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
