Vatican, 31 May, 2021 / 12:03 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis described basketball on Monday as “a sport that lifts you up to the heavens.”
He made the remark during a May 31 audience with members of the Italian Basketball Federation, basketball’s governing body in Italy, which is celebrating its centenary.
He said: “I would like to say one thing with basketball in mind. Yours is a sport that lifts you up to the heavens because, as a famous former player once said, it is a sport that looks upwards, towards the basket, and so it is a real challenge for all those who are used to living with their eyes always on the ground.”
He continued: “I would also like this to be a noble task for you: to promote healthy play among children and young people, to help young people to look up, to never give up, to discover that though life is a journey made up of defeats and victories, the important thing is not to lose the desire to ‘play the game.’”