Pope encourages Italian soccer players to be good role models

May 09, 2026

Pope Leo XIV today encouraged the members of the Inter Milan soccer team to be good role models to the young.

After congratulating the team for winning the Scudetto, Pope Leo invited the athletes to “reflect on the experience you have had, so that, in this moment of success, you may become bearers of a message that is particularly useful for the growth of young people.”

“Many of them, at this time, look to you as their ‘heroes,’ as role models to emulate, and this entrusts you with a responsibility that goes beyond performance and calls upon you, as sportsmen, to be witnesses to values,” the Pope continued. “I would like to emphasize this, because young people today truly need role models, and what you do has an impact, which can be positive or negative, on the life of the young. And so, I would really like to leave you with this thought of the great responsibility you bear.”

This morning’s audience with the team’s management and players took place in Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace.

 

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Further information:

• To Executives and Players of the Italian "Inter" Football Team (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 5/9/26)
• Scudetto winners Inter to meet Pope Leo ahead of Coppa Italia Final (Football Italia, 5/6/26)