Vatican, 19 September 2026. Special Olympics Italy athletes who represented their country at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 had the honour of meeting with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for the first time in the Vatican on 19 September.
The general audience brought together athletes, leaders and representatives of the Special Olympics movement for a recognition of the role that sport can play in creating a more inclusive world for people with intellectual disabilities.
A Special Olympics International delegation was also in attendance, led by President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Evangelista and including Chief Inspiration Officer and Senior Advisor, Athlete Experience Loretta Claiborne, and Chief Global Government Relations Officer Shawn Ferguson.
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV spoke to the Special Olympics athletes and said: "Pope Francis, while receiving a group of athletes from Special Olympics, said that “sport is one of the universal languages that overcomes cultural, social, religious and physical differences, and that manages to unite people, making them participants in the same game and, together, protagonists of victory and defeat”, and entrusted this witness to you in a special way."
"Today I am doing the same, because our world is in such need of people who, like you, remind everyone of the true values of life. I therefore thank you for your presence, for the genuine joy you bring, for the positive message you embody, and I encourage you – athletes, coaches, managers, assistants and support staff – to continue your work with enthusiasm."
David Evangelista added: “Sport teaches us that we are stronger when we stand together. Special Olympics shows this every day: athletes, families, coaches, volunteers and partners coming together to create opportunities that extend far beyond the playing field. To be welcomed by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican is a powerful recognition of the dignity, talent and contribution of people with intellectual disabilities, and of the role sport can play in bringing people together.”
Loretta Claiborne said: “It was a great honour to be in the Vatican with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and to represent Special Olympics athletes from around the world together with the wonderful Italian delegation. Sport has given me so many opportunities in my life: to compete, to travel, to make friends and to show people what I can do. I hope this meeting helps more people understand that athletes with intellectual disabilities belong in sport, and that we have so much to contribute.”
Angelo Moratti, President of Special Olympics Italy, said: "The World Winter Games Turin 2025, organized for the first time in Italy, left an important legacy in our country and have drawn renewed attention to the Special Olympics movement. Now we must transform that legacy into a daily commitment, so that the opportunities offered by sport can reach more and more people and territories."
"We thank Pope Leo XIV for wishing to meet our delegation, alongside Loretta Claiborne representing athletes from all over the world, and for recognizing, once again, the universal value of sport as a language of fraternity, encounter, and inclusion. This is a moment we will carry with us and that will continue to inspire our journey."
Every day, Special Olympics supports people with intellectual disabilities all over the world, and hearing that our commitment to sport as a tool for inclusion and dignity is recognized by the Pope fills us with pride and a sense of responsibility.
The encounter in the Vatican also continues a long history of closeness between Special Olympics and the Holy See. Over the years, Special Olympics athletes have been welcomed in the Vatican, with Pope Francis meeting them on several occasions.
In 2015, he welcomed a delegation of Special Olympics Italy athletes ahead of the World Games in Los Angeles, USA, saying “Sport must instead be safeguarded and protected as an experience of human values, of competition yes, but in loyalty, in solidarity. Dignity for every person: always!”
Two years later, during another audience with Special Olympics athletes, Pope Francis met young athlete Gemma Pompili. After presenting him with a pair of Special Olympics red sports shoes, Gemma spontaneously sat beside him for the remainder of the audience, creating a candid and memorable image that came to symbolize the movement’s message of inclusion.