MOTTO

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
FOR THE 75TH INTERNATIONAL GAMES OF FISEC-FICEP

I send cordial greetings to the organizers, benefactors and Participants in the FISEC-FICEP International Games taking place in Budapest from 14 to 20 July, together with the assurance of my prayers.

The games are an opportunity to highlight three fundamental words for the building up of today’s society: YOUTH, SCHOOL and SPORT. Indeed, the connections among these three words demonstrate their social, political, ethical and spiritual richness. A young person who plays sports is one who rejects the temptation of isolation in the digital world and instead immerses himself or herself in the concreteness of reality. A reality that is rich with fraternity, effort and fun.

A school that promotes sports is one that values the human and social formation of its students, promoting not only their mental and spiritual development, but also their physical wellbeing. Moreover, young students playing sports in an international competition are proof of the connecting power of sports as a vehicle for peaceful encounters between different peoples.

In this regard, I would like to issue a challenge to all of you: as members of catholic schools, you have an extra mission compared to other international sporting events. You must compete amongst yourselves but also be witnesses of a fraternal atmosphere. This is not about creating a world of Christian sports as an alternative to secular competitions, but about experiencing how activities and leisure have been wonderfully restored and elevated in Christ (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 61).

May blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati serve as a model for you to play sports in the light of faith and also to live your faith through sports. With these sentiments, to all present I gladly impart my apostolic blessing, as a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord.

Leo PP. XIV