Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and one of the most significant religious leaders in the world, died on Sunday. He was 88 years old.
On multiple occasions, the Pope met with elite swimmers at The Vatican on the occasion of the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, one of the oldest swimming competitions in the world.
The Pope on more-than-one occasion gushed over the virtues of swimming, capturing the essence of the sport succinctly. In 2017 he said that while swimmers were living in a “liquid” society, lacking points of reference, that swimming was anything but a “liquid” sport, even though it takes place in the water.
“Your sport happens in the water, but it’s not ‘liquid,’” Francis said to swimmers like Federica Pellegrini and Gregorio Paltrinieri, who presented him a special yellow racing suit. “On the contrary, it’s extremely ‘solid,’ requiring constant commitment and strength of spirit.
“The water in which you swim, dive, play and race recalls a series of points: the value of the body, which should be taken care of and not idolized; the need for an interior life, and the search for meaning in what you do; the strength and courage to resist weariness; a clear vision of which landing to seek in life, and how to reach it; and the value of authenticity, which means transparency, clarity, and interior purity.”
A year later during the same meet, he met with more swimmers, including Sarah Sjostrom, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, and Chad le Clos, and he once again spoke of the virtues that the sport of swimming brings.
Pope Francis meets European swimmers in 2018. Courtesy: LEN Media
“Like any sporting activity, if practiced with loyalty, swimming becomes an opportunity for formation in human and social values, to strengthen the body together with character and will power and to learn how to know and accept each other as companions,” he said in 2018.
He further talked about how, while swimming is primarily an individual sport, that it involves teamwork in the way that athletes collaborate and work together in their training environments. He further celebrated the way that swimmers show how discipline, healthy competition, and teamwork can lead to positive results, saying that these characteristics are “a lesson in life, especially for your peers.”
Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, came from Argentina and was of the Jesuit order of priests – an order that has long integrated the value and power of sports as a cornerstone their teaching. Francis himself played basketball and soccer in his youth and was renowned as serious soccer fan.
Francis died at 7:35AM local time on Monday morning after being discharged last month from a lengthy hospital stay while battling pneumonia. This was his second serious battle with pneumonia in his life: he lost a lung to the disease when he was 21 years old, shortly before entering the priesthood.
- Follow the New York Times’ updates about Pope Francis’ legacy and memorials of his life around the world at this link.
I never knew the Pope talked about swimming.
I will keep those inspiring words he gave for swimming to heart.
Why did he accept George Pell into his inner circle when everyone in Australia knows Pell moved priests around so they weren’t caught.
He also needed to be VERY clear about accepting of all people.
Plus his stance on IVF and surrogacy remained in the dark ages.
Thanks for this article.
I had the honor of attending Mass at St.Peters with Pope Francis on Palm Sunday last week. His recent passing only magnifies the power of that experience and his compassionate and empathetic legacy. He will be greatly missed.
Requiescat in pace, Papa
JD VANCE DID IT
Unfortunate planning on going to Italy in the fall and would have loved to “see” him
A good man, helped so many people in his lifetime.
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